Confused Modeling at Eva’s Way (Case 2013-03)

This case has been retired and is not available any longer.

Case summary

Eva’s Way is a fashion jewelry startup that uses a multi-level marketing approach to sell its products to customers. In this approach, the company builds its sales force by converting customers to sales representatives (reps) paid by commissions from their sales. Sales reps can convert their own customers into further sales reps, creating a hierarchy of reps that all profit from a sale. Underlying this model is a so-called pyramid scheme, which if not managed correctly, can be illegal. In the case of Eva’s Way, conversion of customers to sales reps and the flow of revenues to the company, the root of the hierarchy, is not working. Mark Main, the CEO of the startup, needs to dig in deep to determine what is broken in the model and its workflows.

Please note that all names and data have been changed and anonymized from the underlying company and situation.

Example case question [1]

  • Create a glossary to help Eva’s Way understand and fix its problems

Case difficulty cube [2]

  • Analytical dimension: Difficult
  • Conceptual dimension: Difficult
  • Presentation dimension: Average

Freely available materials

  • Case 2013-03: Confused Modeling at Eva’s Way (not available any longer)
  • Concepts and frameworks

Materials for lecturers