Decision Case Studies

Real startup decisions, scored across 4 dimensions, with verified outcomes. Learn from what worked — and what didn't.

347
Decisions Analysed
81%
Positive Outcomes
6.1
Avg Score /10

Featured Case Studies

Scale Featured

Google: Launch AdWords self-serve platform (2000)

Google's search engine was growing fast but had no monetisation. The team debated between enterprise sales, display ads, and a self-serve auction model where any business could bid on keywords. The self-serve approach was riskier — no enterprise contracts — …

8.15/10
Positive
Scale Featured

OpenAI: Launch ChatGPT as a free research preview (2022)

OpenAI released ChatGPT as a free web app in November 2022, making GPT-3.5 accessible to anyone. Rather than gating behind API pricing or enterprise sales, they let the world use it for free — a massive bet on viral adoption …

8.15/10
Positive
Scale Featured

Superhuman: Launch at $30/month with no free tier (2017)

Rahul Vohra launched Superhuman as a premium-only email client at $30/month with no free tier, requiring an invite and onboarding call for every user. At a time when every email client was free, this was a bet that a small …

8.10/10
Positive
Experiment Product Strategy

The Pokémon Company: Launch Pokémon Champions game (2026)

The Pokémon Company (or its partner developers/publishers) made the strategic decision to officially launch the new game, Pokémon Champions. This involved committing significant development and …

5.25/10
Negative
The game Pokémon Champions was launched, but early feedback and performance indicate a 'rough start.' …
Experiment Market Positioning

Tesla: Pursuing regulatory approval for supervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) in European markets (2026)

Tesla made the strategic decision to actively seek and secure regulatory approval for its supervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology in key European markets, starting with …

5.25/10
Positive
The Netherlands became the first European country to approve Tesla’s supervised Full Self-Driving, paving the …
Experiment Market Positioning

Tesla: Gaining regulatory approval for FSD in the Netherlands (2024)

Tesla strategically pursued and successfully obtained regulatory approval for its supervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology in the Netherlands. This marks a critical decision to begin …

5.25/10
Positive
The regulatory approval in the Netherlands is a significant positive outcome, opening a new market …
Experiment Product Strategy

The Pokémon Company / Nintendo: Launching the "Pokémon Champions" game (2026)

The publisher of Pokémon Champions made the strategic choice to develop and launch this new game into the highly competitive gaming market, leveraging the established …

5.20/10
Negative
The game 'Pokémon Champions' launched to a 'rough start,' indicating initial issues with reception, performance, …
Experiment Fundraising

Figure AI: Secures $675M in Series B funding (2024)

Figure AI, a startup developing humanoid robots, needed to decide how to best fund its highly capital-intensive research, development, and eventual manufacturing efforts. The critical …

5.20/10
Positive
The company successfully closed a monumental $675 million Series B round at a $2.6 billion …
Experiment Pivot / Direction Change

Allbirds: Pivoting from footwear to AI chip rental and raising $50M (2026)

Allbirds, a shoe brand, made the radical decision to shift its entire business model from manufacturing and selling footwear to acquiring and renting out AI …

5.20/10
Positive
Allbirds' stock surged significantly (428-580%) immediately following the announcement of the pivot and the associated …
Experiment Hiring / Team

Restaurant SaaS Company: Fired employee for asking for a raise (2024)

A Restaurant SaaS company made the decision to terminate an employee shortly after they requested a raise, despite the employee having generated a significant £1.4M …

5.20/10
Negative
The immediate outcome is negative, as the company lost a key individual responsible for generating …
Experiment Product Strategy

The Pokémon Company: Launching 'Pokémon Champions' game (2026)

The Pokémon Company, in collaboration with its development partners, made the strategic decision to release 'Pokémon Champions,' a new game in its highly popular franchise. …

5.20/10
Negative
The game launched to a 'rough start,' indicating significant issues, potentially related to bugs, gameplay …
Experiment Product Strategy

The Pokémon Company/Niantic: Launching the Pokémon Champions game (2026)

The Pokémon Company, likely in collaboration with Niantic, made the strategic decision to launch 'Pokémon Champions,' a new game in their globally recognized franchise. They …

5.20/10
Negative
The game is 'off to a rough start,' indicating that initial player reception may be …
Experiment Market Positioning

Tesla: Pursue regulatory approval for supervised Full Self-Driving in European markets (starting with the Netherlands) (2026)

Tesla decided to proactively engage with European regulators to obtain approval for its supervised Full Self-Driving technology. This was crucial for expanding its FSD rollout …

5.15/10
Positive
The Netherlands has become the first European country to grant approval for Tesla's supervised Full …
Experiment Hiring / Team

Restaurant SaaS Company: Firing an employee who generated £1.4M pipeline after a raise request (2026)

A Restaurant SaaS company chose to terminate a high-performing sales employee who had just generated £1.4M in pipeline, following a request for a raise. This …

5.15/10
Negative
The immediate outcome for the employee was termination. For the company, it's a negative outcome …
Experiment Product Strategy

The Pokémon Company / Developer: Launch the game 'Pokémon Champions' (2026)

The Pokémon Company and its development partner decided to release the new game 'Pokémon Champions' to the market. This decision involved significant investment in development, …

5.15/10
Negative
'Pokémon Champions' has reportedly had a 'rough start' since its launch. This suggests that initial …
← Previous Page 24 of 29 Next →

Score Your Own Decisions

Join 347+ decisions in the directory. Build your Founder Decision Quotient and see how your calls compare.

Get Started Free