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Skydeck - Alumni

effective feedback really looks like—and why it will make you a better boss Life Is a Startup Noam Wasserman (MBA 1999, PhD 2002) on what successful founders can teach us about life beyond business Making... View Details

November 2023
Case

Will Fintechs and Central Banks Play in Emtech's Sandbox?

By: Daniel Isenberg and William R. Kerr

In February 2023, Emtech’s founder Carmelle Cadet is facing a dilemma. Rapidly running out of cash, Cadet has a term sheet from a leading VC but has a choice of how to structure the investment. The decision will have significant implications for Cadet’s own stake, as... View Details

Keywords: Cryptocurrency; Business Startups; Venture Capital; Cash Flow; Currency; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Digital Platforms

May 2004 (Revised December 2004)
Case

Slingshot Technology, Inc. (B)

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Elizabeth Collins

Slingshot Technology Inc. (STI) is a privately held software start-up founded in 1995 focused on identifying emerging spaces in the IT services industry and partnering with vendors selling promising but unproven technologies in those spaces. The vendors used STI to... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Private Ownership; Opportunities; Partners and Partnerships; Information Technology; Entrepreneurship; Applications and Software; Intellectual Property; Business Startups; Information Technology Industry

April 2001 (Revised March 2003)
Case

XUMA

By: Andrew P. McAfee and Kerry Herman

XUMA is a Silicon Valley start-up that builds customized eBusiness software suites for its corporate clients. This market is crowded with large players, including the major consulting and systems integration companies. To date, building these suites has been a very... View Details

Keywords: Production; Software; Business Startups; Innovation and Invention; Information Technology Industry; California

Find at Harvard

23 Jan 2024
News

A Wide Net

Growing up in Mumbai, Navroz Udwadia (MBA 2005) spent most of his time on the tennis court, where he was an internationally ranked athlete. Today, as cofounder and partner of Alpha Wave, a global investment group with a multibillion-dollar stake in India’s startup... View Details

Keywords: April White

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Entrepreneurship - Faculty & Research

two failed IPO attempts. As market conditions shifted and funding dried up, founder Zhifei Li faced a critical decision—should Mobvoi attempt another IPO or chart a different course for its future? Keywords: Business View Details

January 2025
Case

AI Meets VC: The Data-Driven Revolution at Quantum Light Capital

By: Lauren Cohen, Grace Headinger and Sophia Pan

Ilya Kondrashov, CEO of Quantum Light Capital, was driven to harness AI for identifying high-potential scale-ups. Collaborating with Nik Storonsky, founder of Revolut, the duo observed that most venture capital (VC) decisions were heavily influenced by emotion, with... View Details

April 2011 (Revised June 2011)
Case

Internet Securities, Inc.: Path to Sustainability

By: Lynda M. Applegate, William R. Kerr and Ryan Johnson

Founded in 1994 when the Internet was still a "toy for techies," the case is set in 1998 when Internet IPOs were red-hot. Internet Securities provides hard-to-find financial, business, economic, and political information on emerging markets. Information from over 600... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Business Model; Business Startups; Decision Choices and Conditions; Venture Capital; Cash Flow; Initial Public Offering; Analytics and Data Science; Growth and Development Strategy; Valuation

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Research - Global

, Ken Pucker and Stacy Straaberg The Allbirds: Decarbonizing Fashion (A) case introduces Allbirds as a footwear startup not only focused on simple design, comfort, and sustainable natural materials but on decarbonizing the wider fashion... View Details

27 Mar 2012
First Look

First Look: March 27

inception of a promising venture lay the foundations for its eventual ruin. The Founder's Dilemmas is the first book to examine the early decisions by entrepreneurs that can make or break a startup and its team. Drawing on a decade of... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

April 2009 (Revised May 2017)
Case

Skyhook Wireless

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Thomas R. Eisenmann

Ted Morgan, the founder of Skyhook Wireless just received a call from Steve Jobs of Apple asking for a meeting. Ted must decide how to prepare for a meeting that could finally give Skyhook an anchor customer. Ted and his team have worked for three years to build a new... View Details

Keywords: Mobile and Wireless Technology; Information Technology; Business Ventures; Business Startups; Technology Industry

17 Feb 2020
Sharpening Your Skills

How Entrepreneurs Can Find the Right Problem to Solve

are so biased it’s hard to trust the results. Further, entrepreneurs may have a good hunch there’s a job to be done that needs improving or replacing, but they can’t describe where in the customer journey they can truly make an impact. I’m a big fan of confident View Details

Keywords: by Julia Austin

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Student Journey - Entrepreneurship

Student Journey Whether you’re a founder, joiner, investor, or undecided, explore all we have to offer during your two-year entrepreneurial journey. To learn more about each journey, refer to our "Entrepreneurship Journey Road Map". View Details

01 Jun 2023
News

Bridging the ESG Data Gap

opportunity and responsibility to tackle the most pressing issues of our time,” she states. “Our company empowers venture investors and founders to do just that.” NURTURING BREAKTHROUGH IDEAS An Engine of Innovation From Big Pharma to... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg

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Entrepreneurial Management - Faculty & Research

conditions shifted and funding dried up, founder Zhifei Li faced a critical decision—should Mobvoi attempt another IPO or chart a different course for its future? Keywords: Business Startups ;... View Details

March 2017
Case

CIC: Catalyzing Entrepreneurial Ecosystems (A)

By: William R. Kerr, Sari Kerr and Alexis Brownell

CIC creates "entrepreneurial ecosystems," renting out office and co-working space to start-ups and related companies and providing basic business needs like Wi-Fi and legal advice. Founder Tim Rowe refers to the CIC as "innovation infrastructure," bringing together... View Details

Keywords: Start-ups; Boston; Cambridge; St. Louis; CIC; Cambridge Innovation Center; Co-working Space; Entrepreneurial Ecosystems; Innovation Ecosystems; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Business Offices; Innovation and Invention