Four Lands | Save Venturea

Class sectionTeamTeam access code

Restore backup

Use the exact class-section name supplied by your instructor. Divide scenarios among teammates on different laptops. Use Save this scenario or Save this proposal; use Refresh team progress to see teammates’ latest work. Avoid editing the same scenario at the same time. Browser drafts stay on this device; shared saves need the PHP files on the course server. Download a backup at the end of each session.

The mission

Venturea is a Colorado-based renewable energy company offering solar panels, wind turbines, and grid storage. Its mission combines innovation, sustainability, and wider access to clean energy. In this fictional case, a pullback in domestic support threatens the business. Targeted international expansion must help secure its future.

A good-looking operating margin is not enough. Setup costs, five-year returns, country fit, and risk can turn a promising proposal into a poor investment. The eight original scenarios must all be rejected under the project rules. Your task is to explain why, then develop a credible rescue plan.

Read the executive conversation Economic analysis Cultural analysis

The original conversation graphics are included. The audio clip has been omitted. Country profiles are fictional case evidence; use real-world research to test mechanisms and cost assumptions.

Organize your team

Team leadTeam scribeTeam members

The lead coordinates decisions and flags participation concerns to the instructor. The scribe maintains the shared record and presentation. Everyone contributes analysis and helps defend the final proposal.

Round 1: Evaluate all eight original scenarios. Record an evidence-based rejection for each, using no more than 300 words per scenario.
Round 2: Reimagine two distinct original scenarios and build one new scenario for any of the Four Lands.
Executive review: Use the three-scenario summary to create and submit a PowerPoint deck, then deliver a 10-minute presentation.

Budget ceiling: $120 million in combined five-year costs for the final portfolio, including setup and recurring expenses. Use Venturea’s share of joint-venture costs and revenue.

Team work plan

Elliot is not happy! None of the original eight scenarios are sufficient!

The Conversation Redux

Setting: Miriam’s Office

Miriam, sitting behind her immaculate desk, is reviewing the results of the Four Lands Project analysis. Elliot storms in, his face a mix of frustration and disbelief. He slaps a folder of financial projections on her desk, causing a faint clatter.

Elliot:
"Are these scenarios a joke, Miriam? Please tell me this is some kind of accounting test, not our actual expansion plan. These numbers are abysmal if you factor in the setup costs!"

Miriam: (adjusting her glasses)
"Elliot, calm down. The scenarios were designed to highlight operational efficiency over time. The setup costs are a long-term investment, not a short-term burden. Let’s walk through the numbers rationally."

Elliot:
"Rationally? Fine. Negative profit margins everywhere! We’re not even breaking even on setup costs within five years. What’s the ROI here? Tell me these aren't worse than they already look."

an image displaying negative and discouraging ROIs

an image displaying negative and discouraging ROIs

Elliot:
"How on earth is this project supposed to save the company, Miriam? What’s the payback period for these glorious losses?"

table displaying very long payback periods

table displaying very long payback periods

Miriam:
"Yes, the payback periods are long. But these scenarios are about strategic positioning, Elliot. The Four Lands Project isn’t just about revenue; it’s about market entry and sustainability."

Elliot:
"Strategic positioning? Miriam, the company’s survival is hanging by a thread! We’re not even generating enough revenue to cover the setup costs and recurring expenses. How will this project save the company in four years? You need to rethink these projections or come up with something far more feasible."

Miriam:
"Elliot, I understand your frustration. But without these international expansions, our domestic market risks are even greater. Let me refine the projections and explore contingency options to ensure short-term stability while these markets grow."

Elliot:
"You’ve got a week. If we can’t make this work, Four Lands is off the table. We can’t afford to gamble the company’s future."

Round 2 · Reimagine Venturea’s future

Open the Redux conversation in a separate page

Part 1: Rework two existing scenarios. You may change the entry mode, setup costs, recurring costs, revenue, and royalty assumptions. Part 2: Design an entirely new scenario in Zandora, Brayland, Noveria, or Eryndor, using an active or passive mode.

Use generative AI to research viable changes. Improved numbers are easy to write; the hard part is showing how Venturea could achieve them. Explain the mechanism, the calculation, the source, and its fit with the country. Check AI claims against credible sources. Do not treat an AI response as evidence by itself.

All amounts below are in millions of USD. Enter Venturea’s own revenue, not a licensee’s or franchisee’s total sales. If using royalties, explain the sales base × royalty rate; changing a royalty rate does not automatically change the revenue input. One-time fees must not be multiplied by five.

Portfolio rationale

Project outcome · Three-scenario portfolio

How the calculations work

Recurring revenue: annual revenue × 5. One-time project fee: count once. Five-year costs: setup + annual recurring costs × 5. Net profit: five-year revenue − five-year costs. Project profit margin: net profit ÷ five-year revenue. ROI: net profit ÷ five-year costs. Operating margin, shown in Round 1, excludes setup costs for recurring models.

Cash-flow payback: setup ÷ (annual revenue − annual recurring costs), provided the annual surplus is positive. For one-time contracts, use the team’s stated completion/payment timing; payback is not achieved if the fee fails to cover setup and costs incurred before payment. No discounting, taxes, financing, or residual value are assumed.

Legacy Redux measure: the supplied workbook calculates setup ÷ annual revenue for recurring models and uses an entered term for turnkey. This revenue-based measure is displayed separately for continuity; it does not account for annual costs. The graphic in the workbook instead defines payback using annual recurring profit. The cash-flow measure follows that graphic.

Project totals include all three scenarios. Average payback is the simple arithmetic mean of the three scenario payback periods, as in SUMMARY; it is not an aggregate portfolio cash-flow recovery date. If any scenario has no payback, the average is reported as not achieved. The instructor can choose which payback measure drives the contest.

Scenario explanations and portfolio rationale · included in printed briefing

Your 10-minute executive presentation

Submit a PowerPoint deck and present to Venturea’s executive leadership team. You may open with the portfolio outcome or use it as your closing recommendation.

Project outcome: Identify the two reimagined scenarios and the new scenario; explain why you selected them. State project-level five-year revenue and average payback.
Individual scenario overview: Show setup fee, recurring annual costs, annual recurring revenue or one-time fee, five-year revenue, five-year costs, five-year net profit, profit margin, ROI, and payback for each.
Detailed explanation: Compare original and restated figures. Explain entry-mode changes, partnerships, cost reductions, revenue drivers, royalty logic, and supporting calculations.
Country fit and execution: Address market potential, cultural and sociopolitical factors, specific risks, and mitigations. Explain why the new scenario is distinct.
Recommendation: Defend feasibility, the budget, the implementation sequence, and how the plan supports Venturea’s future. Cite research and disclose how AI was used and verified.

Suggested pacing: 1 minute for the problem and outcome; 6 minutes for three scenarios; 2 minutes for risk and execution; 1 minute for the recommendation.

Watch the supplied presentation video

The contest compares higher five-year revenue and shorter average payback among instructor-approved portfolios. If different teams lead on the two measures, the console identifies the tradeoff for executive judgment rather than inventing a combined score. High forecasts still require defensible evidence.

The mission

Organize your team

Round 1 · Diagnose the original proposals

The Conversation Redux

Setting: Miriam’s Office

Round 2 · Reimagine Venturea’s future

Project outcome · Three-scenario portfolio

Your 10-minute executive presentation