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Start-up
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- May 1996 (Revised March 1998)
- Case
SaleSoft, Inc. (A)
By: Das Narayandas
SaleSoft, a start-up firm, markets Comprehensive Sales Automation Solutions (CSAS) that automate a firm's sales, marketing, and service functions. Even though the product has received very favorable responses from prospects, product complexity and a long buying cycle... View Details
- January 1996
- Case
Palm Computing, Inc. (A)
By: Myra M. Hart
Discusses patents, licenses, and deal making in a start-up venture. The entrepreneur, Jeff Hawkins, holds a patent on Palm Print, a pattern recognition algorithm. After licensing Palm Print to his employer, he led three years of development of commercial products for... View Details
- January 1996
- Background Note
Creativity and Innovation in Organizations
Creativity, the production of new and useful ideas by individuals or teams, can appear in many forms and many functions within firms of all kinds--from entrepreneurial start-ups to well-established enterprises. This note describes the varieties of creativity in... View Details
- October 1995 (Revised September 1996)
- Case
Dell Computer Corporation
By: Das Narayandas and V. Kasturi Rangan
Traces the evolution of the personal computer industry over the last 20 years and uses this as a backdrop to look at how Dell Computer Corp. grew from a small start-up to a multi-billion-dollar company in a decade. Dell is now faced with a set of decisions on the... View Details
- October 1995
- Article
Start-ups, Spin-offs, and Internal Projects
By: James J. Anton and Dennis Yao
We examine the incentive problem confronting a firm and employee when the employee privately discovers a significant invention and faces a choice between keeping the invention private and leaving the firm to form a new company (start-up), or transferring knowledge and... View Details
- June 1995 (Revised November 1996)
- Case
Northern Telecom and Tong Guang Electronics (C): Future Challenges
By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Pamela A. Yatsko
This case considers the future challenges facing the Northern Telecom joint venture in China with Tong Guang Electronics. Asks how well the start-up and transition have been managed and whether the right foundation has been laid for the future. View Details
- April 1995 (Revised January 2003)
- Case
Anasazi Exclusive Salon Products, Inc.
By: William A. Sahlman and Jason Green
Anasazi, a hair-care products start-up based in the Midwest, is having growing pains as it tries to develop a new distribution model for the professional hair salon industry. The company has completed several rounds of venture financing but, to continue, needs to raise... View Details
- November 1994
- Case
VideoGuide, Inc. (A)
By: William A. Sahlman and Jason Green
VideoGuide is emerging from a development stage start-up and requires a significant capital infusion to commercialize its product. Various financing options are considered including going public, venture capital, private placement, or a strategic partner. Given the... View Details
- June 1993 (Revised April 1998)
- Case
COMCO Holding AG (B): COMCO Martech
COMCO Martech was a new breed of joint venture for COMCO Holding, a mid-sized Swiss-German company that had grown over a five-year period through tie-ups with small, start-up companies. Whereas a typical COMCO venture provided services to a large German retailer, was... View Details
- May 1993 (Revised January 1994)
- Case
Cummins Engine Company, The: Starting Up "B" Crankshaft Manufacturing at the San Luis Potosi Plant
By: Robert H. Hayes
Cummins Engine Co. is starting up production of diesel engine crankshafts in its plant in central Mexico. This operation requires much tighter tolerances than any product previously produced at the plant, and the young (recent MBA) manager who is in charge of the... View Details
- December 1992 (Revised September 1996)
- Case
ImmuLogic Pharmaceutical Corporation (Abridged)
By: Josh Lerner
ImmuLogic Pharmaceutical Corp., a development-stage biotechnology company, is considering making an initial offering of common stock. The rationales for and problems of high-technology start-ups are explored. The challenges posed by "windows" for public offerings are... View Details
- September 1992
- Case
Vintage Directions, Inc.
Focuses on the problem of determining whether to continue with a start-up after the first market test. The company has seen product success but is far from break-even and needs additional financing. Focuses on opportunity analysis and the use of market data to assess... View Details
- August 1992 (Revised July 2013)
- Case
ChemBright, Inc.
ChemBright is a small start-up company that manufactures private-label household chemicals. The company sells its products to grocery chains in the New England area. Its strategy is based on a significant logistics-based cost advantage. The primary case decisions are... View Details
- February 1992 (Revised January 2002)
- Case
BMW: The 7-Series Project (A)
By: Gary P. Pisano
Explores BMW's decision about how to manufacture prototype vehicles. Historically, BMW's prototypes were handcrafted by highly skilled artisans in the company's shop. A proposal has been made to alter the process so that prototypes are made in a way that can better... View Details
- November 1991 (Revised July 1995)
- Case
Body Shop International
Describes the start-up and rapid growth of a company whose founder holds strong, non-traditional beliefs about the role of the corporation and its responsibility to society. After profiling Anita Roddick as a person, the case describes the anti-mainstream approach she... View Details
- July 1990
- Background Note
Note on Acquiring Bank Credit
By: Amar Bhide and Howard H. Stevenson
Outlines the issues and alternatives faced by start-up businesses in attracting bank credit. The topics covered are how to lay the groundwork for establishing a banking relationship, selecting a bank, preparing an application, and negotiating a loan. View Details
- January 1989
- Supplement
Suzanne de Passe at Motown Productions, Video
By: Linda A. Hill
Updates events in the case and draws a tighter focus on managing a start-up and women in leadership. View Details
- October 1986 (Revised September 1987)
- Background Note
Start-up and Entrepreneurship
By: James L. Heskett
- December 1983 (Revised August 1988)
- Background Note
The Start-Up Process
By: Howard H. Stevenson and Michael J. Roberts
Describes the various stages in the start-up process and describes in detail the questions that can be asked and the analysis that can be performed to help deal with the issues that arise at each stage. View Details
Keywords: Business Startups
- Research Summary
Innovating in Energy: Learning from High-Potential Ventures
My work at HBS has always focused on high-potential ventures. Most recently, these have been professionally financed start-ups and buyouts in newly emerging energy and cleantech businesses. These ventures tend to be based on innovative insights into technology and... View Details