The “Beyond Epic: Building the Business Beyond a Single Event” Case Study (Fisher & Goldman, 2013) located in the Harvard Business Review is designed to allow the reader to follow the founder and CEO of a mountain bike race in South Africa who wonders how to build on the world-class event that he and his team have created. Although the event is popular and continues to grow in prestige, the business’s dependence on a single event creates both a threat and an opportunity. The founder and CEO is therefore looking for the concept or idea that will provide the business with its next injection of growth. As with the other case study activities in this course, each case study answer should be thoughtfully crafted by utilizing the insight gained in this course as a future sport manager. For this case study assignment, read the article “The Beyond Epic: Building the Business Beyond a Single Event” from the Harvard Business Review and answer the following questions, which represent the specific critical elements that must be addressed for this assignment:
a) How has Kevin Vermaak been effective in launching and growing the Absa Cape Epic Mountain Bike Race? Identify and describe the critical success factors underlying the creation and development of this event.
b) Describe the key tensions and challenges confronting Kevin Vermaak and the Absa Cape Epic team as they wrap up the ninth running of the event. What important issues contribute to these tensions and challenges?
c) What are the most attractive options for overcoming the challenges faced by Vermaak and his team? How should they evaluate their options? Describe and evaluate the various options available.
d) What would you recommend that Kevin Vermaak do? Make a recommendation, justify your recommendation and map out a plan for implementing that recommendation.
