TEACHING NOTES: Boo.Com (Theme 4, Part 2) A. SUMMARY OF THE CASE This two-part case discusses the rise and fall of Boo.com, a European venture founded by two e-
business pioneers from Sweden that targeted customers of the high fashion industry by using the
latest in multimedia technology to create a cyber-sensory shopping experience. It also captures
the excitement of the early days of business-to-consumer e-business by detailing the ease with
which the founders of the venture were able to raise millions of investment dollars from a diverse
range of capital sources. It then goes on to describe the manner in which the money was spent on
implementing a business plan using technology that was in a sense premature for the mass
markets. The case also highlights the critical need for adequate systems validation and user
interface testing before the launch of a high-profile e-business concept.
B. TEACHING OBJECTIVES AND TARGET AUDIENCE
The ability to raise financing for a new e-business venture has often been highlighted as being the
most critical factor in e-business implementation. This case is most suitable for helping students
understand both the investment process as well as the variables that impact the success of raising
investment funding. The case will benefit students interested in the venture financing aspects of
e-business as it provides information about the process used by the founders to secure funding for
their venture. This case can also be used for advanced undergraduate courses, graduate courses,
and executive seminars in systems development for e-business to emphasize the need for
stringent quality control in programming, interface testing, and systems configuration in
implementation. It also highlights to this target audience the need for close coordination between
the technical, marketing, and financial functions in a start-up e-business venture during the
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implementation stage. Being a...