Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal, had been a source of wealth, pride and prestige for the Bancroft family for much of the 20th century. From 1928 to 2007, the family lived off company dividends and left the day-to-day management of the publishing business to senior journalists who had worked their way up through the ranks of the WSJ.

This case introduces the application of blue ocean strategy in the context of managing a business portfolio at the corporate level. Apple created future profits and growth not by exploiting existing demand, but by reconstructing industry boundaries to create new market space and unlock latent demand.

The case puts the reader in the position of a fictional venture capitalist considering an investment in Facebook. As part of the investment decision process, the protagonist analyzes the evolution of online social networks (OSN), the market profile and the various existing business models and valuation approaches.

This cases describes the founding, rapid expansion, and fall of an online entertainment venture through the Internet boom and bust. After a merger and painful restructuring, the entrepreneur was able to survive the downturn and reach cash flow break-even in 2002.