Publications

October 2023 (Revised March 2024)
Case

Fantuan

By: Feng Zhu and David Lane

In 2023, CEO Randy Wu was considering the optimal growth strategy for Fantuan, a restaurant food delivery platform that had expanded from its 2014 founding in Vancouver, Canada to serve the Chinese demand for Asian cuisine in urban markets across Australia, Canada, the... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Customer Focus and Relationships; Diasporas; Entrepreneurship; Digital Platforms; Growth Management; Business Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Growth and Development Strategy; Service Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; Canada; United Kingdom; Australia

August 2025
Case

Must B Nutty?

By: Christina Wallace, Martha Hostetter and Alicia Dadlani

Veronica and Miguel Garza, siblings from a large Mexican-American family from Texas, founded a company in 2014 to sell the almond-flour tortillas Veronica had developed to fit her grain-free diet. Their company, Must Be Nutty, tapped into growing demand for... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Valuation; Family Business; Family Ownership; Small Business; Brands and Branding; Product Marketing; Distribution Channels; Market Entry and Exit; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

Web

Browse All Articles, Research, & Case Studies - HBS Working Knowledge

01 Nov 2024 In Practice Layoffs Surging in a Strong Economy? Advice for Navigating Uncertain Times by Rachel Layne Layoffs have been on the rise in some US industries as tech and professional services companies grapple with slowing demand... View Details

February 2016 (Revised September 2020)
Case

T-Mobile in 2013: The Un-Carrier

By: John Beshears, Francesca Gino, Jonathan Lee and Sean (Yixiang) Wang

By 2013, the U.S. wireless industry was in the midst of a costly transition. As consumers began to embrace more sophisticated mobile devices, the industry's four main players spent heavily to improve their infrastructures for providing reliable high-speed data... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Product Positioning; Competition; Wireless Technology; Telecommunications Industry; United States

January 2025
Case

The Vision of Wonder

By: Michael S. Kaufman and Daniella Bertolotti

Serial entrepreneur Marc Lore successfully disrupted three marketplaces—trading cards, diapers (founded Diapers.com and eventually sold to Amazon for more than $500 million) and ecommerce (founded Jet.com competing directly with Amazon and eventually sold to Walmart... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Exit or Shutdown; Entrepreneurship; Disruptive Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Technology Industry

March 2024
Case

Biomanufacturing Decentralization by Stämm

By: Paul A. Gompers, Jenyfeer Martínez Buitrago and Mariana Cal

In Buenos Aires, Argentina, cousins Llamazares and D’Alvia founded Stämm, a startup based on the idea of decentralizing biomanufacturing processes and downsizing biotech facilities. After raising its seed and series A rounds, and while finalizing its series B round in... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Selection and Staffing; Technological Innovation; Science-Based Business; Business Strategy; Commercialization; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Launch; Research and Development; Biotechnology Industry; Latin America; South America; Argentina; Buenos Aires

2025
Book

The Experimentation Machine: Finding Product–Market Fit in the Age of AI

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang

Leverage AI to be a 10x Founder

Today’s most successful founders know that the startups that learn the fastest will win. In The Experimentation Machine, I reveal how AI is transforming the way startups find product-market fit and scale.... View Details

Keywords: AI; Founder; Startup; AI and Machine Learning; Technology Adoption; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Market Entry and Exit

05 Nov 2020
Blog Post

12 Weeks of VC Summer: Remote Edition

Goats and Horses Maverick Ventures is the venture arm of Maverick Capital. The team focuses mainly on investments in tech and healthcare across a variety of different... View Details

07 Jul 2022
HBS Case

How a Multimillion-Dollar Ice Cream Startup Melted Down (and Bounced Back)

filing for bankruptcy? And more importantly, how did Smith and Cuscuna rebound from their first failed venture to open another successful ice cream shop? The startup, like many others, was a victim of its own success, says Harvard... View Details

Keywords: by Pamela Reynolds

February 2025
Case

Fly, Fix, Fly at True Anomaly

By: Joshua Lev Krieger, Jim Matheson, Fiona Murray and David Allen

How should companies learn from failure? Founded by four U.S. Space Force warfighters, the tough tech startup True Anomaly wanted to compete with major defense contractors to supply the U.S. Department of Defense with satellites and software that could help protect... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Engineering; National Security; Digital Platforms; Failure; Problems and Challenges; Business and Government Relations; Entrepreneurship; Aerospace Industry; United States; Colorado

02 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

10 Trends to Watch in 2024

The lightning-fast ascent of generative AI isn’t the only sea change on the horizon for businesses in the new year. The global economy is in flux as war, climate change, trade issues, and infrastructure problems demand attention. Many companies continue to struggle to... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

Web

Podcast - Business & Environment

Circular Services. She shares how their private equity, venture capital, and catalytic credit strategies are helping scale recycling, reuse, and circular supply chains.Lauren also explores the critical role... View Details

February 2024
Case

ReSpo.Vision: The Kickstart of an AI Sports Revolution

By: Paul A. Gompers, Elena Corsi and Nikolina Jonsson

This case study explores the growth journey of Polish computer vision sports start-up ReSpo.Vision in an emerging entrepreneurial ecosystem. By providing 3D data and analysis to soccer clubs, ReSpo.Vision achieved significant milestones with a €1 million seed round, an... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Business Plan; Experience and Expertise; Talent and Talent Management; Decisions; Decision Choices and Conditions; Forecasting and Prediction; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; AI and Machine Learning; Analytics and Data Science; Applications and Software; Business Strategy; Sports Industry; Technology Industry; Poland; Europe

February 2011 (Revised November 2012)
Case

Product Development at OPOWER

By: Thomas Eisenmann and Rob Go

OPOWER, a software startup that helps utilities engage their customers in ways that reduce energy consumption, is scaling rapidly. The company's new head of product management has designed a system to address a point of constant tension: whether to build custom... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Customer Relationship Management; Entrepreneurship; Growth Management; Product Development; Sales; Customization and Personalization; Energy Conservation; Environmental Sustainability; Information Technology Industry; Utilities Industry

30 Mar 2021
Blog Post

Africa Rising: Understanding Business, Entrepreneurship, and the Complexities of a Continent with Professor Hakeem Belo-Osagie

sociological, and historical – and the ways in which these Africa-specific trends impact the opportunities and challenges in undertaking business and entrepreneurship ventures on the continent today. Tell me about your SIP. Why is it... View Details

January 2022 (Revised November 2023)
Supplement

Uber in China (C): The Cost of Success for Didi

By: William C. Kirby and Noah B. Truwit

On June 30, 2021, ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing (Didi) raised $4.4 billion in its initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the largest IPO of a Chinese company listed on an American exchange since Alibaba raised $25 billion in 2014.... View Details

Keywords: Uber; Didi Chuxing; Start-up Growth; Regulation; Ride-sharing; Transportation; Business Startups; Business and Government Relations; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Growth and Development; Policy; Competition; Laws and Statutes; Transportation Industry; Technology Industry; China

2021
Chapter

Building Small Business Utopia: How Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Can Increase Small Business Success

By: Karen G. Mills and Annie Dang

Small business lending has remained unchanged for decades, laden with frictions and barriers that prevent many small businesses from accessing the capital they need to succeed. Financial technology, or “fintech,” promises to change this trajectory. In 2010, new fintech... View Details

Keywords: Big Data; Fintech; Artificial Intelligence; Small Business; Financing and Loans; Capital; Success; AI and Machine Learning; Analytics and Data Science

October 2021
Case

Diversifying P&G's Supplier Base (A)

By: Kris Ferreira, Kym Lew Nelson, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Sarah Mehta

In February 2003, P&G hosted two meetings—one with its largest woman- and minority-owned suppliers and one with its largest non-minority-owned suppliers. Attendees in each meeting heard the same message: P&G was keen to grow its commitment to inclusive supply chains,... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Model; Business Organization; Family Business; Joint Ventures; Demographics; Diversity; Ethnicity; Race; Ethics; Fairness; Ownership; Supply Chain Management; Consumer Products Industry; Service Industry; United States; Ohio

March 2010 (Revised November 2010)
Case

Pandora Radio: Fire Unprofitable Customers?

By: Willy C. Shih and Halle Alicia Tecco

Pandora Radio is at a crossroads. Founder Tim Westergren has just been told by a well known VC to get rid of his unprofitable customers in order to get his costs down, but Westergren is not sure that such actions are consistent with his company's business model.... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Customer Satisfaction; Music Entertainment; Venture Capital; Profit; Growth and Development Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Internet; Media and Broadcasting Industry