PEBBLE TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
Pebble, founded by Eric Migicovsky, burst onto the scene in 2012 with a Kickstarter campaign
to launch its first smartwatch. It raised $10,266,845 (£6,285,947), the highest amount secured on
the platform at that time at a short period of time, to fund the production of the first smartwatch.
Pebble proved there was interest in the wrist‐worn gadgets, well before Apple introduced the Apple
Watch and other big tech companies followed suit. Its success elevated a trend that would end up
being led by the likes of Apple, Fitbit and Jawbone. The smartwatch had arrived. This was then
followed by a series of successful crowdfunding campaigns, raising million dollars order, and
creating a cult‐like Pebble community of users and third‐party developers.
Yet, four years on, in December 2016, it announced a $40m fire sale to Fitbit. Fitbit will own
Pebble’s intellectual property and operating system and be shutting down its hardware division; the
jewel in the crown of the crowdfunding champions. Pebble is, ironically, sinking like a pebble.
As an analyst for Brown, Naqavi and Widiarto LLP, you are expected to submit a consultancy report
covering the following three aspects:
1. Identify
Analyse why Pebble failed despite its previous success and its cult following, using root cause
analysis and at least two other frameworks that are covered in this module. The analysis should
be explained thoroughly and backed by strong arguments, as to what happened to Pebble and
how it became factors driven the demise of Pebble. (30%)
2. Compare
One of Pebble’s competitors, Jawbone, was one of the prominent players in the fitness tracker
which first entered the public sphere as a maker of wireless technology, selling Bluetooth
headsets and wireless speakers under the stewardship of CEO Hosain Rahman, and later became
a unicorn which raised funding with $3 billion valuation from some of the biggest venture capital
in Silicon Valley. However, it also failed in 2017.
Analyse why Jawbone failed using root cause analysis and one other framework, compare the
failure case of Pebble to the the failure case of Jawbone, and present what your keytakes are
from these two failure cases. (40%)
3. Strategise
If you were replacing Eric Migicovsky as CEO of Pebble, what turnaround or exit strategy that you
want to develop? (20%)
Additional Marking Weight:
Presentation (including referencing style) 10%

This final coursework is expected to be prepared in consultation report style, not academic essay.
Use tools, theories and concepts drawn from lecture material, recommended reading, reputable
business and news media sources (e.g. Forbes, BusinessWeek, BBC), and independent study to
identify root causes of failure and develop a turnaround or exit strategy.
A good assignment will:
• Conduct a multi‐level analysis to identify and evaluate the root causes of failure, and
any changing conditions or major decisions central to failure
• Have a clear argument and thesis, with a balance of analytical and descriptive writing,
and diagrams where necessary
• Frame and support analysis with relevant company performance information, industry
evidence, references to material from the module and wider academic reading
• Offer considered rationale for turnaround or exit strategy
• Be clearly structured and written with references in report style (not Harvard
referencing style)
All assignments will be marked against the standard Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
marking rubric.