This is a two-part case:

1. Apollo Candy: When Family Is Barred from the Business (Part A)
2. Apollo Candy: Epilogue (Part B)

Saul and a partner, both immigrants to Canada, established a candy manufacturing business, with Saul in charge of product development and production, and his partner in charge of sales and accounting. Although founded out of necessity, the business prospered. Saul and his partner spent all profits not required for operations and immediate family needs on charitable activities and the community. This investment beyond the nuclear family put the firm on a trajectory that limited its long-term potential to become a second-generation family business, as did Saul’s agreement with his partner to limit the involvement of his family in the business.

The objectives of the case are to provide insights into the unusual motivations and consequences of a successful small- to medium-sized enterprise of a necessity entrepreneur engaged in an unusual form of “social entrepreneurship.” The motivations suggest goals at the societal rather than business or family level and may derive in part from the personal and socio-political background of the entrepreneur. The case thus provides insights into the possible roots of social entrepreneurship.

Theories that are evoked by the case pertain to resource- and knowledge-based views, social entrepreneurship, necessity entrepreneurship, socioemotional wealth, family dynamics, and stewardship.