THE SMART SCALE GAME

Purpose, People & Profit in Neptune's Next Billion-Dollar Brand

Take charge of an internal venture at Neptune Corporation. Your mission: build Neptune's next billion-dollar brand in just 12 months. Balance purpose, people, and profit as you scale the business to new markets.

📈

SCALE

Expand into new markets and build momentum

🎯

PURPOSE

Stay true to the mission while chasing growth

👥

LEAD

Build your team and shape culture through decisions

Tutorial

Click any topic to learn more about the game

🎮

The Game

You're running a corporate venture. Scale it in 12 months.

📧

Your Inbox

Receive emails from your team. Make decisions that matter.

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Key Metrics

Track markets, template, purpose, innovation, skill & morale.

💰

Finances

Revenue vs. costs. Stay solvent or face early termination.

🎚️

Resources

Allocate budget across departments to shape outcomes.

👥

Your Team

Five department heads with different priorities and styles.

📅

Reviews

Monthly reports and quarterly feedback from HQ.

🍸

Networking

The Neptune Reception mini-game in Month 3.

🎯

Winning

Hit your market target while keeping everything in balance.

You can revisit this from the title screen anytime

THE SMART SCALE GAME

Purpose, People & Profit in Neptune's Next Billion-Dollar Brand

The lift doors open onto the 23rd floor. Your floor now.

After eight years building your reputation across Neptune Corporation — from operations to strategy to leading a regional product team — the call finally came. You've been appointed New Business Unit Director of one of the company's most ambitious internal ventures: a startup-within-a-corporation that could reshape how millions of people live.

The previous director moved on. The board sees potential — and risk. You have 12 months to prove this venture can become Neptune's next billion-dollar brand.

💎

Your Mission: Build a Billion-Dollar Brand

Scale this venture into Neptune's next major success story — balancing purpose, people, and profit along the way.

📋 Your Brief from the Board

"Neptune has always believed that business should improve lives, not just extract profit. Your venture sits at the heart of that mission.

We need you to reach new markets, build a team that believes in what we're doing, and — critically — prove we can do good and make money. Get this right, and you'll have built Neptune's next billion-dollar brand.

The next year will test everything you know about leadership. Your department heads will bring you problems. Your decisions will shape the culture. And the numbers won't lie.

Good luck. We're counting on you."

🎯

Scale with Purpose Expand into new markets while staying true to your mission

👥

Build Your Team Hire leaders, manage morale, and create a culture that wins

💰

Stay Solvent Every decision costs money — run out and it's game over

Game Length

Choose Your Internal Venture

Select a venture to lead. Click "Learn More" to see full details before choosing.

AquaLux Refill Stations

Premium personal care refill hubs

📅 12 months🌍 High Purpose⚖️ Balanced

FrostVale Plant-Based

Premium plant-based frozen desserts

📅 12 months💡 Medium Innovation🚀 High Risk

PuriClean Sanitation

Affordable hygiene for emerging markets

📅 12 months🌍 High Purpose🌍 Moderate

MindSpring Wellbeing

B2B digital wellness platform

📅 12 months💡 High Innovation🚦 High Risk

Choose Your Scaling Ambition

How aggressively will you pursue growth? This sets your market targets, timeline, and resource requirements.

🌱

Local Champion

Lower Risk

Focus on winning a few key markets really well. Build deep customer relationships and perfect your operating model before expanding further. Less pressure, more control.

Target Markets 5 markets

Profit Expected By Month 10

Monthly Burn £500K base

⚖️

Regional Expansion

Balanced

Expand across multiple regions while maintaining quality. Balance speed with careful execution. The board expects meaningful scale, but you have room to course-correct.

Target Markets 15 markets

Profit Expected By Month 8

Monthly Burn £800K base

🚀

Global Blitz

Higher Risk

Move fast and capture territory before competitors can respond. High investment, aggressive timelines, significant pressure — but the upside is transformational if you succeed.

Target Markets 25 markets

Profit Expected By Month 6

Monthly Burn £1.2M base

📊 Allocate Department Resources

Choose how to allocate resources across departments. Standard funding is included in your baseline costs. You can shift resources to prioritise certain areas — increasing one means more impact there, reducing saves money but limits effectiveness.

Monthly Adjustment £0K

vs Standard Baseline No change

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Finance

Financial controls, reporting, cash management

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Human Resources

Talent development, culture, compensation

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Operations

Supply chain, facilities, logistics

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Marketing

Brand building, campaigns, market expansion

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Technology

R&D, systems, innovation, digital tools

💡 Tip: Prioritise departments that matter most to your venture. Increasing investment improves outcomes from decisions in that area; reducing it saves money but limits your effectiveness.

📚 Learn More About Scaling Corporate Ventures

The research and inspiration behind this simulation

📖 Academic References

Burgelman, R.A. and Grove, A.S., 2007. Let chaos reign, then rein in chaos—repeatedly: Managing strategic dynamics for corporate longevity. Strategic Management Journal, 28(10), pp.965-979. DOI

DeSantola, A. and Gulati, R., 2017. Scaling: Organizing and growth in entrepreneurial ventures. Academy of Management Annals, 11(2), pp.640-668. DOI

Haas, M.R. and Hansen, M.T., 2007. Different knowledge, different benefits: Toward a productivity perspective on knowledge sharing in organizations. Strategic Management Journal, 28(11), pp.1133-1153. DOI

Hansen, M.T., 1999. The search-transfer problem: The role of weak ties in sharing knowledge across organization subunits. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(1), pp.82-111. DOI

Sapsed, J. and Salter, A., 2004. Postcards from the edge: Local communities, global programs and boundary objects. Organization Studies, 25(9), pp.1515-1534. DOI

Szulanski, G., 1996. Exploring internal stickiness: Impediments to the transfer of best practice within the firm. Strategic Management Journal, 17(S2), pp.27-43. DOI

Szulanski, G., Ringov, D. and Jensen, R.J., 2016. Overcoming stickiness: How the timing of knowledge transfer methods affects transfer difficulty. Organization Science, 27(2), pp.304-322. DOI

Szulanski, G. and Winter, S., 2002. Getting it right the second time. Harvard Business Review, 80(1), pp.62-69.

Winter, S.G. and Szulanski, G., 2001. Replication as strategy. Organization Science, 12(6), pp.730-743. DOI

Winter, S.G., Szulanski, G., Ringov, D. and Jensen, R.J., 2012. Reproducing knowledge: Inaccurate replication and failure in franchise organizations. Organization Science, 23(3), pp.672-685. DOI

🎬 Movies & TV Shows

WeCrashed (AppleTV) — Documents the experience of WeWork in a 10-part series, with excellent acting and rich information about the dangers of hyper-scaling.

The Founder (Movie) — Documents the rise and growth of McDonald's as a franchise model by following the life of Ray Kroc. It also shows the tensions between the original template and its expansion into mass scaling.

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THE SMART SCALE GAME

SCALE

PURPOSE

LEAD

Tutorial

Topic Title

THE SMART SCALE GAME

Choose Your Internal Venture

AquaLux Refill Stations

FrostVale Plant-Based

PuriClean Sanitation

MindSpring Wellbeing

Venture Name

📋 Overview

🎯 Target Markets

👥 Target Consumers

⚡ Key Challenge

Choose Your Scaling Ambition

Local Champion

Regional Expansion

Global Blitz

📊 Allocate Department Resources

Finance

Human Resources

Operations

Marketing

Technology

Recruit Your Team: Head of [Role]

Candidate Name

📊 Quarterly Resource Review

Current Performance

Department Allocations

Your Leadership Journey

💪 Your Strengths

🌱 Growth Opportunities

💡 Key Learnings

🏆Unlock: Corporate Champion

Ready for Another Challenge?

📚 Learn More About Scaling Corporate Ventures

📖 Academic References

🎬 Movies & TV Shows

Month 1 Complete

📊 This Month's Changes

📈 Progress to Market Target