Publications

June 2014
Teaching Note

Lit Motors

By: Thomas Eisenmann

In mid-2012 Lit Motors had created both engineering and design prototypes and conducted initial customer tests on less than $750,000 of investment. Lit Motors' founder, Daniel Kim, had started the company to design and manufacture an efficient electric 2-wheeled... View Details

Keywords: Lean Startup; Prototyping; Electric Vehicle; Urban Vehicle; Customer Test; Gyroscope; Entrepreneurs; Development Stage Enterprises; Creativity; Disruptive Technologies; Consumer Surveys; Market Segmentation; Manufacturing Costs; Entrepreneurship; Auto Industry; United States; California

05 Oct 2021
News

Launch Signals

tech startup producing stylish bracelets with an inobtrusive control button that can send text messages and GPS tracking to friends, a pre-recorded call to a specific phone number, or a direct connection to the police. “Flare gives you... View Details

Keywords: entrepreneurship; startup; safety; wearable tech; women; Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing; Manufacturing

June 2014 (Revised November 2014)
Case

Investing in Online Marketplaces

By: Andrei Hagiu and Hermes Alvarez

Simon Rothman had recently been promoted from executive-in-residence to Partner at esteemed venture capital firm Greylock Partners and placed in charge of managing a $100 million early-stage fund commitment dedicated to online marketplaces. In Greylock's view, 2014 was... View Details

Keywords: Business Models; Competitive Advantage; Entrepreneurship; Internet; Investments; Networks; Technology; Venture Capital

August 2015
Case

Yabbly (A)

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Christopher Payton

In November 2013, with less than 10 months of cash on hand, Tom Leung, the founder and CEO of Yabbly, must decide where to focus his resources. His startup, a question-and-answer application for shopping decisions, had benefited from a strong showing at the SXSW... View Details

Keywords: Startup; Mobile; Online Product Reviews; Consumer Products; Business Model; Business Plan; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Innovation Strategy; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Internet and the Web; North America; United States; Washington (state, US); Seattle

22 Feb 2022
News

Vision: Learning Curve

leveraging existing technology and infrastructure to enhance the quality of early childhood education for disadvantaged kids. And while the state-run preschools and primary schools that serve this population may suffer in comparison with... View Details

Keywords: Alexander Gelfand; education; entrepreneurship; startup; India; Educational Services

06 Dec 2021
News

Elevator Pitch: Power Sourced

Illustration by Drue Wagner Illustration by Drue Wagner Chaku Foods Nikki Okrah (MBA 2021), CEO and Founder Concept: A snack-food company in Okrah’s native Ghana that is building farming supply chain infrastructure for other consumer packaged goods companies to tap... View Details

Keywords: agriculture; Africa; food manufacturing; entrepreneurship; startup; Agriculture; Food Manufacturing; Manufacturing

March 2020
Technical Note

Intrapreneurship: Leading Innovation Efforts in Established Organizations

By: Karen G. Mills and Annie Dang

“Intrapreneurship” is the use of entrepreneurial management techniques within established companies to create new environments that foster innovation. Mature firms have consistently faced risk of elimination from competitors, shifting consumer preferences, and... View Details

Keywords: Intrapreneurship; Innovation; Corporate Venture Capital; Accelerators; Incubators; Lean Startup; Hypothesis Testing; Business Ventures; Entrepreneurship; Innovation and Invention; Leadership; Framework; Disruption

25 Aug 2022
News

Vision: To Go-Go

For all their variety, restaurants have two things in common: a kitchen where food is prepared and a dining area where customers consume it. But what if you could use technology to ditch the dining area and just keep the kitchen, trimming... View Details

Keywords: Alexander Gelfand; entrepreneurship; foodtech; startup; Latin America

July 2023 (Revised May 2024)
Case

Vytal: Packaging-as-a-Service

By: George Serafeim, Michael W. Toffel, Lena Duchene and Daniela Beyersdorfer

The Germany-based startup Vytal operated the largest digital-native reusable packaging-as-a-service network globally, having raised nearly €15 million, established a large network of restaurant partners, and prevented the use of millions of single-use take-out food... View Details

March 2019
Case

DayTwo: Going to Market with Gut Microbiome

By: Ayelet Israeli and David Lane

DayTwo is a young Israeli startup that applies research on the gut microbiome and machine learning algorithms to deliver personalized nutritional recommendations to its users in order to minimize blood sugar spikes after meals. After a first year of trial rollout in... View Details

2016
Working Paper

Pivoting Isn't Enough: Principled Pragmatism and Strategic Reorientation in New Ventures

By: Rory McDonald and Cheng Gao

New technology ventures often experience deviations from their original plans that oblige them to reorient in pursuit of better fit between their evolving products and target customers. Yet research is largely silent on how entrepreneurs explain and justify their... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Reorientation; Technology Entrepreneurship; Innovation; Product Development Processes; Organizational Adaptation; Qualitative Methods (General); Information Technology; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Communication; Entrepreneurship; Alignment; Innovation and Invention; Product Development

September 2018 (Revised December 2019)
Case

Zebra Medical Vision

By: Shane Greenstein and Sarah Gulick

An Israeli startup founded in 2014, Zebra Medical Vision developed algorithms that produced diagnoses from X-rays, mammograms, and CT-scans. The algorithms used deep learning and digitized radiology scans to create software that could assist doctors in making... View Details

January 2017 (Revised April 2017)
Supplement

Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Jonathan Cohen

In late 2016, Bridj was expanding its digital platform to help address urban mobility problems faced by cities across the country and the world. Its founder and CEO, Matt George, weighed up several possible strategies for growth as he aimed to responsibly build the... View Details

September 2018 (Revised November 2018)
Case

Careem: Base Camp or Mountain Peak? Designing an OS for Scaling

By: Shikhar Ghosh, Gamze Yucaoglu and Alpana Thapar

This case focuses on designing a fast growing organization. It is part of a two-case set that is taught together to cover the scaling journey.
Careem, a Dubai-based ride-hailing service aimed to ‘simplify and improve the lives of people, and build an awesome... View Details

Keywords: Scale; Values; Rights; Operating Systems; Business Startup; Transportation; Organizational Design; Entrepreneurship; Information Technology; Organizational Culture; Values and Beliefs; Decision Making; Managerial Roles; Dubai; United Arab Emirates; Middle East

15 Jun 2021
News

Zone Defense

differently,’” Tseng says. “I know what that means: Someone could have gotten killed.” If Brandon Tseng was prescient about the demand for technology that could reduce the risks associated with indoor-clearance operations, Ryan Tseng... View Details

Keywords: April White; drone technology; military; security; entrepreneurship; leadership; Air Transportation; Transportation

November 2014
Teaching Note

Claritas Genomics

By: Robert F. Higgins and Matthew G. Preble

Dr. Patrice Milos is the first CEO of Claritas Genomics (Claritas) and she faces a number of challenges in scaling the young company. Claritas was formed around a lab spun out from Boston Children's Hospital (BCH) which had performed genomic tests for the hospital. Now... View Details

Keywords: Healthcare; Healthcare Startups; Genetic Testing; Genetics Diagnostics; Spinning Out Hospital Services; Spin-out; Health Care and Treatment; Genetics; Entrepreneurship; Biotechnology Industry; Health Industry; United States

September 2020
Teaching Note

Miami's Tech Future (C): Reaching Another Miami

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Joyce J. Kim

The effects of Miami’s startup scene have not reached many “left-behind” lower-income Black communities, which are disproportionately affected by problems such as segregation and racial discrimination, lack of transportation access, crime, education quality, government... View Details

14 May 2014
News

(Re)moving the Needle

injector, which uses a "liquid needle" only 100 micrometers in diameter, delivers drugs through the skin at any location, at any desired depth and volume. "We believe our patented technology will transform the delivery of medicines and... View Details

Keywords: Robert S. Benchley; medical technology; Scientific Research and Development Services

April 2014 (Revised January 2015)
Background Note

Note on Mobile Healthcare

By: John A. Quelch and Margaret L. Rodriguez

Delivering health care to the global population was a challenge. Health care costs accounted for ten percent of world GDP by 2013. In the U.S., health care costs were expected to top $3.1 trillion in 2014. New technologies, shortages of trained personnel and... View Details