Publications

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

Web

Entrepreneurship Course Online | HBS Online

Now Key Concepts Identify a business opportunity Evaluate an idea and assess the market Explore the risks and rewards of entrepreneurship Leverage experiments to validate concepts and refine your business strategy Discover the key... View Details

16 May 2024
News

On the Job

Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Spotify More Skydeck episodes Dan Morrell: Hi, this is Dan Morrell, host of Skydeck. We all have early memories of on-the-job learnings—those moments that had a lasting impact on how we see the world of work and our place in it. This... View Details

Keywords: first job; leadership; life experience; career lessons; Finance; Oil and Gas Extraction; Mining; Retail Trade

January 2007 (Revised May 2008)
Case

Henry Luce and the American Century

By: Nitin Nohria, Anthony Mayo and Logan Wilcox

Henry Luce, founder of the publishing company which produced Time, Life, Fortune, and Sports Illustrated, created the largest media company in the world by the mid-20th century. Luce's flagship magazine, Time, was able to gross over $20 million in sales during its... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Business History; Leadership Style; Emerging Markets; Publishing Industry; United States

Find at Harvard

November 1991 (Revised October 1995)
Case

Calyx & Corolla

By: Walter J. Salmon and David Wylie

Describes a new entry into the $8 billion flower industry in the United States. Combining the use of overnight air freight (Federal Express), information technology, an 800 number, and a catalog, Calyx & Corolla was changing the way flowers had traditionally been... View Details

Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Transformation; Distribution Channels; Business Startups; Problems and Challenges; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; United States

24 Jul 2017
Blog Post

Transitioning to Product Management at HBS

my professor in my Entrepreneurial Sales and Marketing course, both gave invaluable advice). I was connected to the startup I ended up joining, Salsify, through one of Salsify’s investors Mickael Skok, who... View Details

February 2011 (Revised November 2012)
Case

PatientsLikeMe: An Online Community of Patients

By: Sunil Gupta and Jason Riis

PatientsLikeMe (PLM) is an online community where patients share their personal experiences with a disease, find other patients like them, and learn from each other. The company was founded by Jamie and Ben Heywood when their 29-year-old brother was diagnosed with ALS... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Health Disorders; Knowledge Sharing; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Launch; Digital Platforms; Social and Collaborative Networks; Health Industry

January 2024 (Revised May 2024)
Case

Uncle Nearest: Creating a Legacy

By: Hise Gibson, Archie L. Jones, Nicole Gilmore and Ai-Ling Jamila Malone

Fawn Weaver, as a Black woman and industry outsider in a capital-intensive, highly regulated, competitive and male-dominated spirits industry, successfully overcame numerous obstacles to launch a premium American whiskey brand, Uncle Nearest in 2017, which became the... View Details

22 Feb 2022
Research & Ideas

Lack of Female Scientists Means Fewer Medical Treatments for Women

tackle different sorts of markets or different sorts of problems.” How to boost patents by women In recent years, progress has been made toward gender parity in science, as more women enter STEM fields and enroll in technical degree... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

20 Feb 2019
Research & Ideas

Rocket-tunity: Can Private Firms Turn a Profit in Space?

space race have been blessed somewhat by the glamour of it all. Investors enthusiastically, maybe too much so, backed a host of startups including those headed by superstar names like Sir Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk. Rich... View Details

Keywords: by Scott Wallask; Aerospace; Tourism; Transportation

Web

Ellen Desmarais | About

HBP’s continuing commitment to DEI. In addition to her career with established brands, Ellen has also worked with Silicon Valley startups as an executive and an advisor. She began her career in marketing and... 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

16 Aug 2022
Op-Ed

Now Is the Time for Entrepreneurs to Play Offense

stocks, startups. With the market correction, suddenly assets are more interesting to acquire. Many, many startups are flailing. Cash reserves are dwindling and they are desperate to find a safe landing.... View Details

Keywords: by Jeffrey Bussgang

Profile

Enrico Ferrari

technology, he spent nights and weekends learning how to code; soon, he started developing his own algorithms to scale and automate digital marketing campaigns, a skill he applied to successfully expand a classifieds business into fifteen... View Details

Keywords: Tech

November 2000 (Revised November 2005)
Case

Tellme Networks, Inc.

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Nicole Tempest

Tellme, an early-stage, venture-backed company based in Silicon Valley, leverages speech-recognition technologies to provide: 1) a "voice portal" with news and other information accessible through any telephone, and 2) turnkey application development and hosting... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Digital Platforms; Business Conglomerates; Business Startups; Internet and the Web; Venture Capital; Technology Adoption; Internet and the Web; Brands and Branding; Information Technology; Telecommunications Industry; Technology Industry

20 Jan 2023
News

Free Spirits

year to the second. The segment now has a dedicated trade association and big expectations to meet: Global Market Insights predicts the sector will reach $30 billion by 2025. Mariah Wood (left) and Vanessa Royle (Courtesy Tilden... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint; Food Services and Drinking Places; Hospitality

November 2023 (Revised April 2025)
Case

Norse Atlantic Airways

By: Willy Shih

Bjørn Tore Larsen, Norse Atlantic Airways' founder and CEO, hadn't planned to get into the airline business. But when the COVID-19 pandemic depressed the global demand for air travel and the lease rates for jetliners, he realized if ever he was going to get into the... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Startups; Market Entry and Exit; Leasing; Business Strategy; Segmentation; Interest Rates; Air Transportation Industry; Europe; North America; Norway; United Kingdom; United States