Immersive Field Courses: IFCs require a firm commitment and carry a financial obligation. Financial aid is available in the form of a student loan, a need-based HBS scholarship, or a combination of both depending on your individual circumstances. The Add/Drop process at the start of the term is the mechanism for any IFC enrollment changes, and, after that point, the course fee is non-refundable. Refer to the GEO website for full details on IFCs and be sure you understand the Course Policies and Course Fee & Financial Aid. Visit IFC Financial Aid for a quick assessment to determine your eligibility and process or contact finaid@hbs.edu for more information.

Enrollment Capacity: Limited to 45 MBA students (due to the nature of IFCs, auditing is not permitted)

Twenty-five years ago, the Internet changed the landscape of the tech sector. Nearly every category incumbent across B2B and B2C was disrupted by Internet-first startups that dominate today’s “most valuable companies” list. Will history repeat itself as we enter the age of AI? Will a new cohort of native AI startups reshape the tech sector? Or will the incumbents maintain their leadership positions?

In this course, “Disrupting Silicon Valley with Artificial Intelligence”, we will explore these questions. During the Fall, students will be assembled into teams of 6-8 and assigned to a tech category. Three categories will be in the B2B segment (product development, hiring/recruiting, go-to-market) and three in the B2C sector (social media, search, transportation). Students will meet regularly throughout the fall with Professor Roberge to discuss research findings and brainstorm potential implications. In each category, students will research the following questions:

1. How are the large incumbents evolving their strategies to embrace AI? How are the native AI startups positioned?
2. What hypotheses do entrepreneurs and thought leaders have on how AI will reshape the category?
3. Are the incumbents or native AI-startups better positioned to capture market share? How can each party improve its positioning?

We will conclude the research phase of the course in early January and travel to Silicon Valley to present our findings to executives from these companies and meet with AI thought leaders in the region. Past versions of the course were focused on product-led growth rather than AI. Therefore, we anticipate a refreshed set of guest participants. However, to give the students a sense of the caliber of people involved, past guests include:

• Dylan Field (Founder/CEO of Figma)
• Drew Houston (Founder/CEO of Dropbox)
• Aliisa Rosenthal (Head of Sales at OpenAI)
• John Zimmer (Co-founder, President of Lyft)
• John Doerr (Chairman, Kleiner Perkins)
• Dan Shapero (COO, LinkedIn)
• Frederick Kerrest (co-founder of Okta)
• Sid Sidbrandij (Founder, CEO of GitLab)
• Selina Tobaccowala (Co-founder of eVite, former President of SurveyMonkey)
• Dick Costolo (Former CEO of Twitter)
• Dan Springer (Former CEO of Docusign)
• Jay Simons (Founding President of Atlassian)
• Brian Halligan (Co-founder/Former CEO of HubSpot)

Course credit and fees

Students will receive 3 credits upon successful completion of this course.

HBS will provide logistical support for the immersion (including accommodations, select meals, and local travel arrangements). Students will be charged a course fee. GEO will input fee towards defraying a portion of these costs. Students are responsible for booking and paying for their own round-trip air travel and any costs associated with required visa documentation and immunizations. Students should ensure adequate processing time for all visas, as travel fees are not refundable if a student does not secure visas on time.

For detailed information about what the course program fee includes and excludes, as well as information about student accommodations, please visit the GEO website or email geo@hbs.edu.

GEO continuously evaluates the safety and logistical feasibility of running Immersive Field Courses in each location. Please be aware that IFCs can be canceled at any time due to changes in global health and safety or other unforeseen circumstances. Students will not be redistributed into another IFC, nor will a new course be developed. Course fees will be refunded.

*Note: Students can enroll in this IFC and Professor Roberge’s Entrepreneurial Sales 101 course. The course meeting times do not conflict.

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