Battery depleted: engagement, burnout and identity in a European frontier startup

Learning outcomes This study enables students to: apply theoretical frameworks – including the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) Model, Structural Contingency Theory and Stakeholder Theory – to diagnose causes and effects of burnout, role ambiguity and competing organizational demands in startup environments; critically assess and design ethical leadership and management interventions that address role clarity, boundary-setting and well-being, balancing both individual and organizational pressures; develop stakeholder analysis and strategic communication skills to propose practical solutions for sustainable performance, resilience and ethical decision-making in high-growth technology firms; and reflect on personal and collective leadership challenges in dynamic organizations, fostering self-awareness and targeted application of organizational behaviour concepts to real-world dilemmas. Case overview/synopsis In September 2025, Alexandra Quintanilla, Head of Strategic Growth and Experience at NEST 4 FLIGHT, a Vilnius-based drone-technology startup in Lithuania, had 48 h to prepare and deliver a critical investor pitch for a company she had neither founded nor owned. The assignment fell to her not by decision but by structural default: co-founder Ignacio Paredes was committed to a government meeting on the morning of the presentation, and co-founder José Montufo built the numerical argument but would not present it. At NEST 4 FLIGHT, absorbing whatever the moment required had always been Quintanilla’s modus operandi and the source of her mounting exhaustion. The decision she faced was not how to deliver the pitch but on what terms she would continue to hold a role the company had never defined. Three paths were open to her, and none was free: press the founders to restructure her workload and risk her credibility at the moment the company most needed her; absorb the chaos once more and accelerate her own exhaustion; or enforce boundaries unilaterally and risk being read as no longer committed. None of the three resolved the structural condition that had produced the dilemma. With the pitch looming, she had to choose among three incompatible paths: push back on the workload and risk her credibility, absorb the chaos and accelerate her own burnout or delegate, enforce boundaries and risk being seen as uncommitted. None resolved the underlying problem. Set in an emerging-market startup ecosystem, the case is designed for organizational behaviour and human resource management courses, with a primary focus on leadership without positional authority – the exercise of influence, delegation and boundary management absent title or equity – and a secondary focus on entrepreneurship and start-up management. It is analysed through the Job Demands–Resources model, Structural Contingency Theory and the stakeholder salience model. Complexity academic level This case is suitable for advanced undergraduate, graduate (MBA) and executive education courses in leadership, entrepreneurship, innovation management, organizational behaviour and business ethics. It is especially relevant for programs focused on start-up management, workplace well-being and leadership in dynamic technology-driven environments. Subject code CSS 7: Management Science.