PEBBLE SMARTWATCH
Pebble, founded by Eric Migicovsky, burst onto the scene in 2012 with a Kickstarter campaign to launch its first smartwatch. It raised $10,266,845 (£6,285,947), the highest amount secured on the platform at that time at a short period of time, to fund the production of the first smartwatch. Pebble proved there was interest in the wrist-worn gadgets, well before Apple introduced the Apple Watch and other big tech companies followed suit. Its success elevated a trend that would end up being led by the likes of Apple, Fitbit and Jawbone.
The smartwatch had arrived. This was then followed by a series of successful crowdfunding campaigns, raising million dollars order, and creating a cult-like Pebble community of users and third-party developers. Yet, four years on, in December 2016, it announced $40m fire sale to Fitbit. As part of the deal, it will own Pebble’s intellectual property and operating system and be shutting down its hardware division; the jewel in the crown of the crowdfunding champions. Pebble is, ironically, sinking like a pebble.
As an analyst for Widiarto & Naqavi LLP, you are expected to submit a consultancy report covering the following three aspects:
1.Identify Analyse why Pebble failed despite its previous success and its cult following, using Root Cause Analysis using Ishikawa/Fishbone diagram (identifying the root causes), Multi-level Causal analysis, and external & internal cause theoretical frameworks that are covered in this module.
The analysis should be explained thoroughly and backed by strong arguments, as to whathappened to Pebble and how it became factors driven the demise of Pebble. (30%)
2.CompareOne of Pebble’s competitors, Jawbone, was one of the prominent players in the fitness tracker which first entered the public sphere as a maker of wireless technology, selling Bluetoothheadsets and wireless speakers under the stewardship of CEO Hosain Rahman, and later becamea unicorn which raised funding with $3 billion valuation from some of the biggest venture capitalin Silicon Valley. However, it also failed in 2017.
•Analyse why Jawbone failed using Root Cause Analysis using Ishikawa/Fishbone diagram(identifying the root causes) and Multi-level Causal analysis,
•Compare and contrast the failure case of Pebble to the failure case of Jawbone, andpresent what your keytakes are from these two failure cases. (4 0%)
3.StrategiseIf you were replacing Eric Migicovsky as CEO of Pebble, what turnaround or exit strategy that youwant to develop? (20%)Additional Marking Weight: Presentation (structure, language and referencing style) 10%———————————————————————————————————————————
This final coursework is expected to be prepared in consultation report style, not academic essay. Use tools, theories and concepts drawn from lecture material, recommended reading, reputable business and news media sources (e.g. Forbes, BusinessWeek, BBC), and independent study to identify root causes of failure and develop a turnaround or exit strategy.A good assignment will:
•Conduct an analysis to identify and evaluate the root causes of failure usingIshikawa/Fishbone diagram, evaluating any changing conditions or major decisionscentral to failure
•Conduct an effective analysis using Multi-level Causal Analysis (for both cases) andinternal-external causes theoretical frameworks (for Pebble)
•Have a clear argument and thesis, with a balance of analytical and descriptive writing,and diagrams where necessary
•Frame and support analysis with relevant company performance information, industryevidence, references to material from the module and wider academic readings
•Offer considered rationale for turnaround or exit strategy
•Be clearly structured and written with references in report style (not Harvardreferencing style, but footnote-style Chicago Referencing system
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