Go Ape case study (Part B): eight hundred pound gorilla?

Abstract

The case study continues the story of GoApe!, a fast-growth entrepreneurial success story started in 2002 by the husband and wife team of Tristram and Rebecca Mayhew. Part B describes the first three years of growth of the business under the GoApe! brand, from one site in the UK to five. On this journey the couple are faced with numerous challenges, not least the need to raise finance without giving up their majority share of the business. Their business is also built on a set of personal values which they are unwilling to compromise. At the end of part B in 2005 the business is at a cross-road: should the owners go all-out for the next stage of growth, should they diversify, or should they first seek to consolidate what they already have? A detailed Teaching Note with an analysis and suggestions for questions is also available to stimulate discussion in the classroom. GoApe! was a category winner in the 2009 UK National Business Awards, the most prestigious awards ceremony of its kind organised in partnership with Orange.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, managing growth, sustainability, sources of finance, start-up valuations, UK