Bcomp: Guiding Sustainable Products through an Entrepreneurial Storm

Description

Bcomp: Guiding Sustainable Products through an Entrepreneurial Storm: Abstract

The case documents the entrepreneurial journey of Bcomp, a Swiss high-tech firm specializing in high-performance, lightweight, sustainable solutions for the mobility and sports industries. Founded in 2011, the company had 68 employees by June 2023 and was well-positioned for further growth. CEO and co-founder Christian Fischer had been instrumental in realizing the firm’s vision.

Bcomp first entered the sports and leisure market, where it launched two product lines within five years: bCores™ ski cores and ampliTex™ high-performance reinforcement fabrics. The firm quickly consolidated its image as a leading supplier of innovative, high-performance, lightweight solutions, and its success in the winter sports industry facilitated its market entry in other sectors, such as surf sports boards, musical instruments, and luxury watches.

Based on this proof of concept, Bcomp had prepared its next strategic move: entering the motorsports market and using it as a steppingstone to large-scale, highly complex mobility markets. Over the next three years, significant resources were invested in the development of products such as its proprietary powerRibs™ technology, studying market needs, defining its go-to-market strategy, and generating leads. This led to the acquisition of high-profile customers such as Porsche Motorsport, Aston Martin Racing, and Audi Sport and the development of projects with several global automotive OEMs and a long-term collaboration with a global leader in the aerospace maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) industry.

Teaching objectives

This case can be used to show how leaders can bring about industry-wide change and inspire others to find sustaining passion and purpose in their own work. Depending on the type of course, instructors can focus on one or more of the following subjects:

• finding passion and purpose;
• entrepreneurial journey and pivoting;
• venture life cycle and funding rounds;
• combining entrepreneurship with sustainability.

Additional information

Teachers’ notes are available for university teachers only. Please contact the HEC Montréal Case Centre.