Preparing for C-Suite Leadership Changes within a Startup Environment

Project Synopsis: Ariva is a startup company looking to shake up how people (and their companies) approach relocation. This industry has traditionally been a very hands-on, manual process with many inefficiencies. The company has already experienced a successful beta launch, with hundreds of users. The plan is to become the go-to resource for relocation to the D.C. metro area first, before expanding into adjacent markets. Jeanette Broz, the company’s CEO, is a very experienced professional in the destination services field. She’s passionate about integrating proprietary technology into the age-old relocation process in order to optimize the experience for her customers, individuals that are moving to new places. Jeanette recognizes however that her strengths are particular to the market and not really in line with scaling a startup. Her investors recently tasked her with looking for additional partners that will help her build the business. The company’s leadership needs help understanding the roadmap for developing a highly competent team to build Ariva. The company is hungry for opinions on their product and overall strategy and is excited to work through their upcoming challenges with innovative, bright student consultants. Project Context: As Ariva nears a full product launch, it’s important to understand the critical dynamics that are required in order to scale the business. They’re excited to work with student consultants to get fresh perspectives and to develop a better understanding of where they need to be from an HR perspective as they scale. Having this consultation work completed as Ariva launches will allow them to shape their future strategy. The students on this project will be working with Jeanette Broz, the co-founder of Ariva, Chris Fowles, the CTO, as well as other key investors and advisors. Students will learn about the software as a service development process and business model, the global relocation market, and key insights they have learned as a 1776 incubator-backed startup.