Abstract

This case deals with the challenges faced by start-ups in fast-changing markets. EverDream Soft is a Swiss start-up founded in 2010 by Shaban Shaame. Moonga, its main game is one of the first online trade card games. In 2010, it was among the first to benefit from the rise of the mobile digital stores on smartphones. Quickly after its launch, Moonga met an unexpected success in Japan, although it was neither translated in Japanese nor marketing nor designed for the Japanese players. Operating on a free-to-play model, the start-up kept growing at a steady pace in French and English-speaking countries and Japan, one of the leading Japanese companies in mobile approaches EverDream Soft. Due to cultural differences and geographic distance, the negotiation fails. The young start-up which had invested considerable hope, time and money and highly relied on this expected cash in-flow to balance its finances has to face a fatal cash shortage and, consequently, a massive lay-off. Henceforth stripped out from its human resources and despite the support of many academic and entrepreneurial partners, EverDream Soft must turn towards new investment sources to survive in a market now invested by giant publishers.

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