Publications

31 Jan 2023
Op-Ed

Can Insurance Technology Solve the Uninsured Driver Problem?

insurance at a time and only pay for coverage on the days they actually drive. The high cost of the uninsured While 13 percent of drivers nationwide are uninsured, the problem is even worse in some states like California (17 percent),... View Details

Keywords: by Ray Kluender; Insurance

Profile

Rachel H Chung

Southern California is home to the best food in the country, especially Korean food. I inherited being a foodie from my dad, and even after visiting 35+ states, I still think that LA is the mecca for foodies. View Details

January 2023 (Revised June 2023)
Case

Replika: Embodying AI

By: Shikhar Ghosh, Shweta Bagai and Marilyn Morgan Westner

Replika was a virtual AI companion that provided a way for people to process their emotions, build connections in a safe environment, and get through periods of loneliness. The chatbot fulfilled a user's need for a friend, romantic partner, or purely an emotional... View Details

Keywords: AI; AI and Machine Learning; Applications and Software; Human Needs; California

12 Sep 2024
Blog Post

4 Things You Need to Know about Immersive FIELD Courses at HBS

with destinations ranging from San Francisco, California to Tokyo, Japan! 1. IFCs Have Been Running at HBS since 2006 Immersive Field Courses were first developed in 2006 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New... View Details

February 2018 (Revised August 2019)
Case

The Rise Fund: TPG Bets Big on Impact

By: Vikram S. Gandhi, Caitlin Reimers Brumme and Sarah Mehta

It is March 2017, and TPG, a global alternative investment firm with $74 billion assets under management, has recently launched its inaugural impact-investing fund—the $2 billion Rise Fund. In an effort to “take the religion out of impact investing,” Maya Chorengel,... View Details

Keywords: Impact Investing; Impact Measurement; Equity; Investment; Measurement and Metrics; Financial Services Industry; California; San Francisco

October 2018 (Revised July 2023)
Case

Innovation at Uber: The Launch of Express POOL

By: Chiara Farronato, Alan MacCormack and Sarah Mehta

Set in March 2018, the case follows ride-sharing company Uber as it develops and launches a new product called Express POOL. This product offers a reduced price to riders willing to carpool, walk a short distance to/from their pick-up and drop-off points, and wait a... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Management; Innovation Leadership; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Information Technology; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Applications and Software; Digital Platforms; Decision Making; Technology Industry; California; San Francisco

Blog

Making the Decision to Attend: Our Participants Share Their Stories

definitely worth the time investment. My family came out to Boston the first week so I could spend a little time with them. I also went home to California for the brief break halfway through the program. Today's technology, like FaceTime,... View Details

January 2014 (Revised October 2014)
Case

Andreessen Horowitz

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Liz Kind

Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), a venture capital firm launched in 2009, has quickly broken into the VC industry's top ranks, in terms of its ability to invest in Silicon Valley's most promising startups. The case recounts the firm's history; describes its co-founders'... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Venture Capital; Disruption; Entrepreneurship; Industry Structures; Financial Services Industry; California

February 2018 (Revised March 2019)
Case

Sandlands Vineyards

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Gregory Saldutte

Approximately 80% of the wineries in the U.S. break even or lose money. An even greater percentage lose money on an economic basis (i.e., after a charge for the cost of equity). Tegan Passalacqua is a successful, young, Californian winemaker who specializes in making... View Details

15 Aug 2022
Book

University of the Future: Finding the Next World Leaders in Higher Ed

universities. It is an ongoing tragedy when even the states most historically supportive of public higher education, such as California and Michigan, fail to reinvest in their extraordinary flagship institutions. As the New York Times... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Education

February 2023
Case

Roblox: Virtual Commerce in the Metaverse

By: Ayelet Israeli and Nicole Tempest Keller

In 2022, Roblox had 58.8 million daily active users, including over half of all children and teens under the age of 16 in the United States. Roblox, a free-to-use “co-experience platform”, allowed users to come together in immersive 3D experiences to socialize, work,... View Details

23 Sep 2022
Research & Ideas

8 Strategies to Sustain Business Innovation

strategy may be to pitch it as something both familiar and novel. McDonald likes to tell the story of how West Coast restaurants introduced exotic Japanese sushi to diners by promoting the California roll, which made the dish seem both... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

November 2018 (Revised January 2022)
Case

JUUL and the Vaping Revolution

By: Michael W. Toffel, John Masko and Sarah Mehta

In late 2019, San Francisco-based electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) maker JUUL Labs (pronounced “jewel”) faced intense pressure. Sales of JUUL products exceeded $1 billion in 2018, dominating the e-cigarette category. While JUUL Labs’ stated goal was to help current... View Details

22 Mar 2021
Research & Ideas

How to Learn from the Big Mistake You Almost Make

delivery systems.” To unravel this complexity, the research team surveyed 78 radiation oncology professionals at the University of California in Los Angeles. First, they surveyed the group about their perceived psychological safety in the... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Health

18 Jan 2022
Research & Ideas

How Eliminating Non-Competes Could Reshape Tech

we now teach in several classes at HBS. Fortunately for the world, California does not enforce non-compete agreements. Senz: How might the end of non-compete agreements change the tech landscape? Wu: First, without non-compete agreements,... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Technology

September 2011 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Airbnb

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Evan W. Richardson

Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, and Nathan Blecharczyk, the three founders of Airbnb, an online private accommodation rental market, stared at each other across the kitchen table in their San Francisco apartment. It was March of 2009. A single sheet of paper sat on the table... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Housing; Information Publishing; Private Ownership; Online Technology; Information Industry; San Francisco