AfroGames opens favela esports center, hires pros and draws big sponsors
By training favela youth with gear and placing them on pro teams, AfroGames built a profitable esports pipeline backed by brands like TikTok and Casas Bahia.
Read the casechange.archiA CASESTUDIES.CHAT ARCHIVE
A different move.
A different outcome.
Pivots, reinventions and changes that made a meaningful difference.
The full archive, in the appPublished cases
2,000 PUBLISHED CASES · REGULARLY UPDATEDTaiwo Adedotun leaves banking job to build agent banking kiosks, grows to five shops
After launching a POS kiosk in Ota, Taiwo Adedotun quit his auditor job, grew to five agent banking outlets, hired four staff and earned $1,200 in commissions.
Read the caseNubank’s growth-first strategy created Latin America’s biggest digital bank
By targeting banking as the hardest industry and prioritizing user growth over early profit, Nubank scaled to over 26 million users and a $10 billion valuation.
Read the caseFrom English teacher to TikTok‑fluencer founder: How Rhavi Carneiro built Fluency Academy
After seeing gaps in English teaching, Carneiro teamed with an entrepreneur to launch Fluency Academy, a social‑media edtech startup teaching tens of thousands.
Read the caseBongo builds low-cost streaming for Bangladesh's masses, becomes profitable
Bongo's founders pivoted from a diaspora streaming idea to a low-bandwidth, sachet-priced platform for Bangladesh's users, driving profit and mass adoption.
Read the caseFacebook‑driven F‑commerce transforms retail in Bangladesh during lockdown
Without local e‑commerce, Bangladeshi sellers turned Facebook groups and Live into a $400 million market, empowering thousands.
Read the caseU.S.-China Green Fund backs Chinese green tech firms, driving unicorn growth
The U.S.-China Green Fund backed Chinese green tech firms with hands‑on post‑investment support, helping Hosjoy become a unicorn and expand clean‑tech adoption.
Read the caseMicrosoft’s M12 drops ROF terms, raises checks and boosts deals
M12 dropped restrictive ROF terms, raised check sizes, led more rounds, and focused on diversity, creating 13 unicorns and speeding deal flow.
Read the caseSamsung kept Vietnam factories open by isolating workers during Covid-19 surge
Samsung moved workers onto factory premises to live and work during Vietnam's Covid-19 surge, keeping production lines running.
Read the caseNinjaOne Secures $1.9B Valuation After Shifting Focus to Endpoint Management
By focusing on endpoint management for remote work, NinjaOne secured rapid ARR growth and a $1.9B valuation in its Series C round.
Read the caseMorocco privatized its phone monopoly in 2001; Etisalat paid $4.2bn for the stake in 2013
Vivendi paid 23bn dirhams (€2.4bn) for 35% with management control in 2001, reached 51% in 2004 for €1.1bn more, and exited to Etisalat for $4.2bn in 2013.
Read the caseGlico: the kidnapped president stayed 40 years and handed the candy firm to his son
Katsuhisa Ezaki escaped a 1984 kidnapping and candy-poisoning terror, rebuilt Glico, and in its centenary year handed the firm to the fourth generation.
Read the caseAirbnb’s 2015 Cuba launch boosted private rentals and transformed neighborhoods
In 2015 Airbnb launched in Cuba as U.S. travel restrictions eased, shifting tourism from state hotels to private casa particulares on its platform.
Read the caseAbeg sponsors Big Brother Naija, boosting users from 20k to nearly 2m
Abeg spent $2 million to sponsor Big Brother Naija, raising its users from ~20k to nearly 2 m.
Read the casexAI Seeks $6 Billion Round at $20 Billion Valuation with Middle East Backing
After early $1B talks stalled, Elon Musk’s xAI pursued a $6B round targeting Hong Kong offices and Middle East wealth funds, aiming for a $20B valuation.
Read the caseSilverfort Secures $116M Series D to Expand Identity Protection Platform Amid Downturn
Despite a slump in venture funding for Israeli cybersecurity startups, Silverfort’s $116M Series D doubled revenue and expanded its identity‑protection layer.
Read the caseLedger’s $108M Series C Extension Strengthens Crypto Custody Amid Downturn
Ledger added $108M to its Series C amid a crypto funding drought, raising total funds to $468M and expanding crypto/NFT custody.
Read the caseKhosla Ventures doubles down on deep‑tech investments despite venture‑capital slump
Khosla Ventures raised new funds, boosted deal flow, and focused on nuclear fusion, humanoid robots and AI, turning the downturn into a strategic advantage.
Read the caseJohnson & Johnson spins off consumer health as Kenvue, achieving a $3.8B IPO and 22% pop
J&J decided to spin off its consumer health unit, pricing the IPO at $22 shares opened at $25.60 and closed 22% higher, raising $3.8B valuing Kenvue at $50B.
Read the caseAtlassian Acquires Loom to Boost Team Collaboration Suite
Atlassian bought Loom for $975 million, a 35% discount to its 2021 valuation, to boost its collaboration suite amid slowing VC and a return to office.
Read the case