Jenny Arnaraneni is a social entrepreneur determined to build a social enterprise named SOLO Eyewear. Solo produces a line of hand-crafted sunglasses made from bamboo materials, with a portion of the funds from each pair sold donated to providing eye care for poverty- stricken people in need of prescription eyeglasses and sight-saving eye surgeries. 'While in college, Amaraneni was inspired to develop a company that both generated profit and positively affected people. She discovered there was a great need for eye care around the world and decided to research the issue further. Amaraneni, who has poor vision herself, found that approximately one billion people do not have access to eye care and nearly 80 percent of the world's blindness is preventable. The poor state of eye care in the world consumed her. She set a goal: help at least one million people see again. Amaraneni did extensive research and found that corporations that embrace the triple bottom line concept have a higher level of financial performance. With the current American consumer environment leaning toward sustainability (green products} she saw the unlimited possibilities for a triple bottom line company with a mission of eye care for the poor. Amaraneni soon discovered that the process of starting a company was incredibly difficult. She realized that her commitment to help others had to be funded by creating a serious business that could compete in a global economy. She had to develop a valuable product that consumers would buy to nance both the people and planet aspects of her vision. After much research, Amaraneni chose to develop a unique product that included bamboo wood. Bamboo can be difficult to work with, and she identified a contract manufacturing company to develop the eyewear product. The use of bamboo required the bonding of two different materials bamboo and recycled plasticduring manufacturing. She ordered the first run of 1,000 units. After about 500 units were sold, she learned there was a massive quality problem. The sunglasses were coming apart where the bamboo connected to the recycled plastic. Customers were complaining. Amaraneni was rocked and embarrassed by the news because the fiasco could ruin the brand and undermine her mission. She decided to stop sales immediately. Amaraneni e-mailed all customers immediately to inform them about the manufacturing problem. This was a very risky decision because it would call attention to the product defect. However, she felt \"it was the right thing to do.\" She guaranteed all customers that they would receive replacement eyewear or their money back. For weeks, Amaraneni and her staff e- mailed and updated customers by social media almost every day about progress. In addition, she used revenue generated from sales to fund eye surgeries in India, and SOLO communicated those successes as well. Amaraneni's transparency had impact. Her communications opened a dialogue between the company and its customers. By offering customers immediate replacement or their money back she reinforced the principles of a triple bottom line company. Customers were given the option to either wait six weeks for a replacement product or receive an immediate refund. Amazingly, out of 1,000 orders, only five customers asked for their money back. SOLO Eyewear customers clearly had bought in to the mission of the company for helping less fortunate people. Amaraneni realized SOLO Evewear should continue open and honest communication with her community. Her way of handling things brought SOLO positive media exposure. When the news of the first surgeries in India came to the United States, it generated attention both online and in the traditional news media. More interviews followed. Bv engaging its stakeholders, SOLO Eyewear assured them that producing a high-quality, environmentally friendly product and helping others could be achieved simultaneously. Public awareness of this new company became more about helping others and less about product problems. Amaraneni learned she did not have sufficient expertise to select a manufacturing supplier. She used her aggressive networking talent to find individuals with expertise about manufacturer selection. The experts persuaded her that more money should be spent on product design and manufacturing, resulting in a tripling of the retail price of the product. This was an astounding increase. The new price point allowed her to choose a premium manufacturer to produce a top-quality product. If successful, the higher prices would generate more revenue and profit to help even more people in need. Amaraneni became an evangelist for her company and she began seeding other evangelists. She repeated her vision to everyone she interacted with, including the news media. The story was compelling and carried a strong emotional component. \"We are creating a company that will ultimately restore eyesight to over one million people,\" Amaraneni pointed out. This comp any vision, along with Amaraneni's transparent communication about what was going on within the company created a loyal following. The company attracted more than 15 interns who volunteered to work 10-12 hours. The interns volunteer their time because of their dedication to SOLO's mission. SOLO was generating tremendous word-of-mouth, which was important because only 14 percent of people believe what they see, read, or hear, whereas 90 percent believe endorsements from friends and acquaintances. SOLO Eyewear continues to grow Expenses are kept to a minimum by housing the corporate office in Amaraneni's condo. Marketing is done inexpensively by using cloud-based tools such as social media, Skype, and social meetings, along with marketing events. Today, SOLO Eyewear has had online sales in 29 countries and has improved the eyesight of more than 10,000 people in 19 countries through new eyeglasses or cataract surgery. Thousands of people have purchased the company's products and have become evangelists for SOLO, living up to its tag line \"Together we can change lives.\" 1. Does this case demonstrate 'Bottom of the Pyramid' approach to business? Why or why not? Be sure to explain. 2. Do you think Amaranenijs start-up company would have succeeded had it not had a triple bottom line mission? Explain