BITMOVIN INC.: A START-UP GOES GLOBAL
CASE STUDY SOLUTION
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SYNOPSIS
Stefan Lederer, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the online video technology company Bitmovin Inc.
Sa
(Bitmovin), had propelled the start-up along an aggressive growth path. After founding the company in
Austria, he had relocated Bitmovin’s headquarters to California’s Silicon Valley, raised more than US$40
million1 in investments in two funding rounds, and was now in the process of building a global sales
organization for the company’s innovative online video infrastructure solutions. Within the next few years,
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Lederer wanted Bitmovin to achieve $100 million in revenues and initiate an initial public offering on the
NASDAQ stock exchange in New York. However, in the second quarter of 2018, Bitmovin failed to reach
tio
its growth goals for the first time, which made Lederer wonder whether the company still had the right sales
strategy and the right person as its sales leader.
lu
Lederer faced several challenges at the same time. Bitmovin’s rapid international growth had resulted in a
So
The Case Solution Starts From page 4
,ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS
1. What should Stefan Lederer do with the chief revenue officer?
2. What were the main steps in building Bitmovin’s global sales and marketing organization?
3. What are the main strengths and weaknesses of the current sales and marketing organization?
4. To what extent is Bitmovin’s sales and marketing organization aligned with the main market trends?
5. What are the most important steps that Lederer should take to get the company back on its planned
growth track?
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ANALYSIS
1. What should Stefan Lederer do with the chief revenue officer?
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So
“If you were the CEO
of Bitmovin, would you fire the CRO?” There are usually diverging opinions in a class on this issue, which
could be a good start for a lively discussion.
There are three basic options: (1) entrust the CRO with further leadership of the sales team, (2) fire the
CRO, or (3) reconfigure the CRO’s tasks and responsibilities.
Reasons that could be forwarded for entrusting the CRO with the further leadership of the sales team are
as follows:
They built a very effective enterprise sales team, and enterprise customers are Bitmovin’s key customer group.
They perfectly adapted the contracts and pricing model to the needs of the enterprise customer target group.
The CRO is experienced in establishing European technology start-up companies in the US market.
The enterprise sales team could lose its traction if their team leader were to leave the company.
The CRO is the company’s best salesperson, a very talented negotiator, and excellent in closing deals
with enterprise customers.
They strongly contributed to the three-and-a-half-times increase in revenues in 2017.
The Case Solution Starts From page 4
, EXHIBIT TN-2: A MODEL OF THE SALES PROCESS FOR ONLINE VIDEO INFRASTRUCTURE
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pl
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Sa
n
tio
lu
So
The Case Solution Starts From page 4
CASE STUDY SOLUTION
e
pl
m
SYNOPSIS
Stefan Lederer, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the online video technology company Bitmovin Inc.
Sa
(Bitmovin), had propelled the start-up along an aggressive growth path. After founding the company in
Austria, he had relocated Bitmovin’s headquarters to California’s Silicon Valley, raised more than US$40
million1 in investments in two funding rounds, and was now in the process of building a global sales
organization for the company’s innovative online video infrastructure solutions. Within the next few years,
n
Lederer wanted Bitmovin to achieve $100 million in revenues and initiate an initial public offering on the
NASDAQ stock exchange in New York. However, in the second quarter of 2018, Bitmovin failed to reach
tio
its growth goals for the first time, which made Lederer wonder whether the company still had the right sales
strategy and the right person as its sales leader.
lu
Lederer faced several challenges at the same time. Bitmovin’s rapid international growth had resulted in a
So
The Case Solution Starts From page 4
,ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS
1. What should Stefan Lederer do with the chief revenue officer?
2. What were the main steps in building Bitmovin’s global sales and marketing organization?
3. What are the main strengths and weaknesses of the current sales and marketing organization?
4. To what extent is Bitmovin’s sales and marketing organization aligned with the main market trends?
5. What are the most important steps that Lederer should take to get the company back on its planned
growth track?
e
pl
m
Sa
n
tio
ANALYSIS
1. What should Stefan Lederer do with the chief revenue officer?
lu
So
“If you were the CEO
of Bitmovin, would you fire the CRO?” There are usually diverging opinions in a class on this issue, which
could be a good start for a lively discussion.
There are three basic options: (1) entrust the CRO with further leadership of the sales team, (2) fire the
CRO, or (3) reconfigure the CRO’s tasks and responsibilities.
Reasons that could be forwarded for entrusting the CRO with the further leadership of the sales team are
as follows:
They built a very effective enterprise sales team, and enterprise customers are Bitmovin’s key customer group.
They perfectly adapted the contracts and pricing model to the needs of the enterprise customer target group.
The CRO is experienced in establishing European technology start-up companies in the US market.
The enterprise sales team could lose its traction if their team leader were to leave the company.
The CRO is the company’s best salesperson, a very talented negotiator, and excellent in closing deals
with enterprise customers.
They strongly contributed to the three-and-a-half-times increase in revenues in 2017.
The Case Solution Starts From page 4
, EXHIBIT TN-2: A MODEL OF THE SALES PROCESS FOR ONLINE VIDEO INFRASTRUCTURE
e
pl
m
Sa
n
tio
lu
So
The Case Solution Starts From page 4
