Publications

May 2012
Case

Indigo Telecom Australia

By: Cynthia A. Montgomery and Keith Chi-ho Wong

Two entrepreneurs identify an opportunity to bring ubiquitous satellite phone service to the outback of Australia. This case challenges students to carefully identify and evaluate the added-value the firm is bringing to the market, its priorities in implementation, and... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Start-up; Co-founders; Entrepreneurs; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Business Strategy; Telecommunications Industry; Australia

Article

Lessons From Hollywood: A New Approach To Funding R&D

By: Gary P. Pisano and Andrew W. Lo

Companies find it increasingly difficult to justify long-term, risky R&D investments—particularly in science-based fields such as biotechnology, advanced materials, and energy. We argue in this article that the traditional venture model has limits for such investments... View Details

Keywords: Financial Innovation; Financial Strategy; Project Management; R＆D; Start-up; Innovation Strategy; Business Model; Research and Development; Financial Management; Risk Management; Strategy

Find at Harvard

17 Mar 2008
Research & Ideas

The Lessons of Business History: A Handbook

data sets, which has narrowed much research to a study of high-technology start-ups in a few locations. Business historians have a real opportunity now to address the key issues of why societies differ in... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

January 2017
Case

Flatiron School

By: Thomas Eisenmann and Halah AlQahtani

In late 2016, the founders of Flatiron School, a startup offering 12-week coding bootcamps, are formulating their growth strategy. Their new online-only program has matched the excellent job placement results for their in-person bootcamps. Should Flatiron shift... View Details

Keywords: Scaling Start-ups; Growth Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Distribution Channels; Growth and Development Strategy; Internet and the Web; Business Startups; Diversification; Expansion; Education Industry; United States

Web

Entrepreneurial Support - Business & Environment

entrepreneurship, 2. test potential start-up ideas, 3. develop your start-up while at school, and 4. access funding for their start-ups. If you're a climate entrepreneur, you can learn more and access more... View Details

02 Mar 2012
HBS Seminar

Joe Lassiter/Gordon Jones, Harvard Business School/Harvard University

Digital Ubiquity: How Connections, Sensors, and Data Are Revolutionizing Business

When Google bought Nest, a maker of digital thermostats, for $3.2 billion just a few months ago, it was a clear indication that digital transformation and connection are spreading across even the most traditional industrial segments and creating a staggering array... View Details

Research Summary

3. Emergence and Early Growth of a New Venture in an Unfriendly Environment: The Role of a Business Group

Abstract: How can an established organization ease the emergence and early growth of a new venture in an unfriendly environment? To answer this question, I describe and analyze the foundation and early life of two biotechnology start-ups at the... View Details

01 Jun 2009
News

Bright Future for Green Business

“There’s no better horse in the world you could possibly hitch your cart to.” That’s how Matthew Nordan summed up the state of clean, green energy at the School’s Building Green Businesses conference in early March. During the session... View Details

Keywords: Sarah Auerbach; Administration of Environmental Quality Programs; Government; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services; Utilities

14 May 2008
Research & Ideas

Getting Down to the Business of Creativity

business world. Yet any entrepreneur can attest to the creative power required to build an organization where none existed before. "Look, I made a hat /Where there never was a hat," sings Georges Seurat in the musical Sunday in... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail; Apparel & Accessories; Fashion; Entertainment & Recreation

19 Sep 2023
Blog Post

2023 Summer Internships in Business & Environment

What are the career opportunities in business and environment? In Summer 2023, over 100 MBA students found internships at the intersection of business and the environment. This post provides a sample of some... View Details

January 2013
Supplement

EverTrue: Mobile Technology Development (B)

By: William R. Kerr and Alexis Brownell

Brent Grinna has one customer signed up for his alumni-networking mobile app, and is now trying to choose among three possibilities for a CTO. He decided to contract with a friend's company, Dashfire, to create a prototype of the app, and has signed up Brown University... View Details

Keywords: Start-up; Mobile App; CTO; Hiring; Scaling; Business Startups; Decisions; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development; Mobile Technology; Technology Industry; Massachusetts; Boston

01 Sep 2005
News

Business Plan Contest Has Many Winners

With its ninth annual competition last May, the HBS Business Plan Contest has become a well-established start-up that hits “home runs” every year. This year’s traditional track winner was Karen Grajwer (MBA... View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

October 2014
Case

CreditEase: Providing Credit and Financial Services for China's Underclass

By: Lena G. Goldberg, Paul Healy and Nancy Hua Dai

In 2013 Ning Tang, who in 2006 founded CreditEase as a broker of P2P loans to unbanked individuals and small businesses in China, confronts the challenges of rapid growth and expansion in a changing regulatory environment. CreditEase needs to develop technology to... View Details

Keywords: P2P Lending; HNW Products And Services; Business Growth; Business Start-ups; Government Regulation; Change Management; Credit; Microcredit; Banking; Innovation And Management; Developing Countries And Economies; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Social Entrepreneurship; Law; Financing and Loans; Change; China

01 Sep 2006
News

China Dominates HBS Business Plan Contest

The economic power and emerging opportunities in China inspired winners in the tenth annual HBS Business Plan Contest last April. Tingting Zhong (MBA ’06) won first place in the traditional track for 8Baorice, a company that aims to... View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

06 Sep 2022
Blog Post

Student Spotlight: Summer Internships in Business & Environment

is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage climate tech start-ups that reduce CO2 emissions by at least 2.5 Gt by 2050. The $110M fund focuses on early-stage companies commercializing novel technologies and innovating View Details

25 Feb 2008
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Starting a Business

Sharpening Your Skills dives into the HBS Working Knowledge archives to bring together articles on ways to improve your business skills. Questions to be answered: Should I keep control of my company? How do I turn potential into profit?... View Details

September 2020
Case

The Black New Venture Competition

By: Karen Mills, Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Martin Sinozich and Gabriella Elanbeck

Black entrepreneurs encounter many unique obstacles when raising capital to start and grow a business. During their second year at Harvard Business School (HBS), MBA students Kimberly Foster and Tyler Simpson decided to do something to make a difference for... View Details