This assignment asks you to complete Case #3 beginning on page 538 in the text. Brian Lovin is founder of The Kollection, a blog/website dedicated to emerging musicians and fans who want to know about the newest music available. He explains how the site got started as a labor of love, with hopes of filling a gap in the marketplace. It was not long before The Kollection evolved into a popular online venue for music lovers around the world and a revenue-generating enterprise. Lovins reflections about the business and his experiences with it provide instructive insights into several topics that are relevant to most small business owners who are expanding their products/services, and entrepreneur startups. These topics include recognizing an opportunity, launching the business, dealing with growing pains from enterprise expansion, choosing a strategic direction, and adjusting business models in response to changing conditions.

In preparing a case, it is recommended that your first reading/viewing be a relatively quick one. Read the case and make some notes. Answer the questions on page 540:

1. How did Lovin come to recognize the opportunity for his young venture? Of the three types of start-ups mentioned in Chapter 3, which one does The Kollection fit into? What was the source of this opportunity?
2. Complete a SWOT analysis for The Kollection. What does it say about the strengths that the startup can build on or the weaknesses that it must be particularly careful to protect itself against? Does this analysis reveal any promising future opportunities for Lovin and his venture? By your analysis, what threats put the enterprise most at risk?
3. What broad-based strategy is Lovin following at The Kollection? Is this the only and best way to position the company? Why or why not?
4. Conduct a feasibility analysis on the company, being sure to consider its market potential, industry attractiveness, and leadership. According to your assessment, how much promise does the venture offer?
5. What recommendations would you make to Lovin as he thinks about the company and its future: Who and what are involved here? What seems to be the major questions or issues?

Next, begin shifting through the facts in the case and sorting them out in terms that are useful to you in analyzing and resolving the major issues. Keep in mind that case facts are presented in a more orderly fashion than they tend to be in the real world, but you should not assume that they are all equally useful, or that they are properly and fully related as presented in the case.