Publications

29 Aug 2024
Blog Post

Leni Peterson R. (MS/MBA 2023): Solving Big Problems Through Entrepreneurship

with a population of 23 million people. The city simultaneously has every possible water issue including scarcity, flooding, sinking, poor quality, and unequal access. It is here I realized how water touches every aspect of our lives, and how we often View Details

March 2025
Case

Mobvoi’s Path Through Market Challenges and Business Reinvention

By: Paul A. Gompers and Shu Lin

Founded in 2012, Mobvoi evolved through multiple transformations—from AI-driven voice technology to smart wearables and later AI-generated content. Backed by major investors, the company navigated shifts in strategy while facing two failed IPO attempts. As market... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; AI and Machine Learning; Technology Industry; China

May 2020 (Revised December 2022)
Case

Soofa: Displaying the Right Path?

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Amy Klopfenstein and Amram Migdal

In November 2019, Sandra Richter, co-founder and CEO of Soofa, a network of advertising-supported digital bulletin boards, must decide between two different fundraising and expansion plans for her company. One plan entails raising $15 million in a Series A round and... View Details

27 Jan 2015
First Look

First Look: January 27

failing a test) but were unique to experiences of inauthenticity. These results establish that authenticity is a moral state-that being true to thine own self is experienced as a form of virtue. Publisher's link:... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

August 2009
Case

Intel NBI: Vivonic

By: Willy C. Shih and Thomas Thurston

Vivonic was a start-up that was part of Intel's New Business Initiatives that sought to develop and sell personal health monitoring hardware and software. When it was first funded, Intel was in the midst of record growth and was seeking diversification. But the company... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Experience and Expertise; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Product Development; Failure; Diversification; Semiconductor Industry

February 2016 (Revised February 2017)
Case

Mattermark

By: Jeffrey Bussgang and Annelena Lobb

Mattermark, a software-as-a-service company that sold software allowing companies to access financial information about privately-held companies and startups, was at a turning point. CEO Danielle Morrill had to allocate investment funding from a Series A round. She... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Applications and Software; Business Startups; Marketing; Strategy; Technology Industry; United States

28 Apr 2015
First Look

First Look: April 28

boundaries. First, we present the psychological processes that cause individuals to behave unethically without their own awareness. Next, we examine the conditions that lead people to fail to accurately assess others' unethical behavior.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

July 2021 (Revised January 2024)
Case

Fynd

By: Ranjay Gulati, Kairavi Dey and Rachna Tahilyani

Fynd is a fast-growing venture that in 7 years since its founding has become India's largest omnichannel retail company with real-time access to over 9,000 stores' offline inventory. It started as a B2B business supporting retailers who didn’t have an online business,... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Business Model; Acquisition; Decision Making; Cost vs Benefits; Growth and Development Strategy; Web Services Industry; Technology Industry; Communications Industry; India; Mumbai

September 2009
Case

Intel NBI: Image Components Organization

By: Willy C. Shih and Thomas Thurston

The Image Components Organization (ICO) was an internal venture that was part of Intel's New Business Initiatives. It sought to initially develop and sell a high performance integrated CMOS image sensor module for cellular phones. ICO's opening assumptions were that it... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Product Development; Production; Failure; Diversification; Semiconductor Industry

05 Feb 2024
Research & Ideas

The Middle Manager of the Future: More Coaching, Less Commanding

says. “So, I don’t want extrapolate too far, but I wonder about the implications of this for inequality in some ways.” You Might Also Like: University of the Future: Finding the Next World Leaders in Higher Ed The Best Person to Lead Your Company Doesn't Work There—Yet... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand

2011
Working Paper

Entrepreneurship and the Discipline of External Finance

By: Ramana Nanda

I confirm the finding that the propensity to start a new firm rises sharply among those in the top five percentiles of personal wealth. This pattern is more pronounced for entrants in less capital intensive sectors. Prior to entry, founders in this group earn about 6%... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Competency and Skills; Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans; Personal Finance; Wealth

Read Now

18 Feb 2021
Blog Post

SIPs in 2021

co-founder partnerships, using therapy sessions from her How’s Work? podcast to discuss their unique challenges and virtues. “The quality of your relationships determines the quality of your life,” she said. “Sixty-five percent of View Details

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

25 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

Being a Team Player: Why College Athletes Succeed in Business

“Because I think that they're likely to have those other kinds of skills that are just far more difficult to achieve.” You Might Also Like: University of the Future: Finding the Next World Leaders in Higher Ed The Best Person to Lead Your Company Doesn't Work There—Yet... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

September–October 2015
Article

Crash and Burn: Why Silicon Valley's Notion That Failure Leads to Success Won't Work for the Rest of the World

By: Debora L. Spar

In the frenzied hills of Silicon Valley, going bust is common. Research attests that close to half of start-ups supported by venture capital chew through most or all of their backers' money and that the majority never achieve their projected returns on investment. But... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Failure; Learning; Situation or Environment

Article

Young and No Money? Never Mind: The Material Impact of Social Resources on New Venture Growth

By: Mukti Khaire

Although growth is a desirable outcome for new ventures due to the many advantages of large size, most new firms fail to grow, largely due to their limited resources and adaptability. This paper addresses the question of how new ventures grow despite their limited... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Status and Position; Advertising Industry; Chicago; New York (city, NY)

05 Sep 2023
Book

Thriving After Failing: How to Turn Your Setbacks Into Triumphs

teams appeared to have more, not fewer, errors. “All these years later, I can still remember viscerally how it felt,” says Edmondson, who recounts the experience in her new book about the importance of failure, Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

30 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

‘Intrinsic Joy’ Sparks Ideas Better than Cash

and producing things for everyone else.” You Might Also Like: University of the Future: Finding the Next World Leaders in Higher Ed The Best Person to Lead Your Company Doesn't Work There—Yet Why a Failed View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Technology

August 2009 (Revised August 2009)
Case

Intel NBI: Radio-Frequency Identification

By: Willy C. Shih and Thomas Thurston

The Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) group was a start-up that was part of Intel's New Business Initiatives. It sought initially to develop and sell a high performance Rf fast read rate module targeted at fixed position readers that might be found in loading docks... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Organizational Structure; Failure; Diversification; Integration; Semiconductor Industry