Betterment: People Management at a Start-up

What HR challenges do successful start-ups face as they enter their "adolescent" stage?

Ann Bartel  | Spring 2014
Print this page

At the end of 2011, Betterment was at a crossroads. Founder and CEO Jonathan Stein had successfully shepherded his firm through the start-up phase and a successful round of Series A financing. Yet the company had entered what Stein sensed was a shifting tide in its hiring—where its appeal to talented software engineers appeared to be waning. In 2012 Stein hired an experienced process manager to reorganize the engineering work flow. Case A asks students to consider the company's next round of challenges as it scales up. The case Epilogue reports on the impact of organizational changes through early 2016 as the company prepares for continued growth.

Case ID: 140309

Buy select cases through The Case Centre,  Ivey Publishing and Harvard Business Publishing.

Contact us by e-mail at Columbia CaseWorks or 212-853-8585.