Peer Review

Entrepreneurship Cases: Breathometer

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Reviewed:: Mar 8, 2021 by Business

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:

Breathometer was the first Shark Tank pitch where all five "sharks" invested in the deal. The case examines how Charles Kim created the product that tests Blood Alcohol Levels over your iPhone or Android smart phone. The company raised over 2 million dollars from Silicon Valley VC's, Shark Tank, and Indiegogo. Ultimately, the product's advertising claims were found to be dubious by the Federal Trade Commission and they were ordered to provide refunds to all customers. The company is still in business with a major pivot of the product to one that measures bad breath and oral health. The case includes video links and an instructors guide for use in a single class session.

Type of Material:

Case Study

Recommended Uses:

This case can be used in class, for homework, for individual or team assignments and it can be the basis of a lecture with class participation.

For online courses, this would also be a good topic for a discussion board.

Technical Requirements:

Firefox ver 85.0.1

Adobe reader ver 21.001.20135

Microsoft 365 ver 16.0.13530.20440

Firefox ver 85.0.1

Adobe reader ver 21.001.20135

Microsoft 365 ver 16.0.13530.20440

Identify Major Learning Goals:

Understand the concepts of the minimally viable product (MVP)
Learn about customer acquisition and product development.
Comprehend the challenges of entrepreneurship
Realize that even if our product fails we can still do business by altering the product.

Target Student Population:

This case has been used in undergraduate entrepreneurship courses but it can be used in graduate business courses.

Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:

Users need to know how to use a browser, find a URL, how to download a PDF document from a live link and how to view videos online.

Content Quality

Rating:

Strengths:

The material is very flexible and easy to understand by a beginner in business.
It gives basic ideas about how to scale up a business on your terms.
The videos are presented on the homepage and include one from the CEO as well as the Shark Tank Pitch
The case is a downloadable PDF file that can be accessed by students without instructor intervention
All information is available on one webpage

Concerns:

Although teaching notes are not provided, there is a link to one of the authors of the case should the instructor wish to obtain the teaching notes.
Advance preparation would be necessary to use this learning object.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:

Strengths:

As an actual case, this is a realistic example of what entrepreneurs must confront in their efforts to develop a product.
The material is presented in such a way that students and teachers can easily navigate and learn some great with real-life situations and concepts.
It helps you understand the basics of scaling up your business.

Concerns:

Advance preparation is necessary to use this case, as the teaching notes must be requested from one of the authors.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:

Strengths:

The material is very easy to navigate.
The case study recalls a lot of basic concepts which are reinforced.
It uses very effective videos to describe the basic concepts.
Students get to understand how to develop their ideas into business.
The ideal time to use is one hour for being effective.
The key concepts are explained in a very nice way and students can recall the same easily/
The ease of access and a single page of all information necessary for students is a plus.

Concerns:

No learning objectives are provided; the instructor would need to develop these along with the information necessary for individual courses.
Some information may be available in the teaching notes, however.

Creative Commons: