Publications

9 AM – 10 AM EDT, 30 Oct 2019
HBS Online

HBS Online Entrepreneurship Essentials

Master a proven framework for building and financing new ventures and learn to speak the language of the start-up world. Program Dates: October 30, 2019 - December 27, 2019 View Details

9 AM – 10 AM EDT, 12 Jun 2019
HBS Online

HBS Online Entrepreneurship Essentials

Master a proven framework for building and financing new ventures and learn to speak the language of the start-up world. Program Dates: June 12, 2019 - July 10, 2019 View Details

9 AM – 9 AM EST, 14 Nov 2018

HBX Entrepreneurship Essentials

Master a proven framework for building and financing new ventures and learn to speak the language of the start-up world. Program Dates: November 14, 2018 - December 12, 2018 View Details

02 Oct 2000
Research & Ideas

Networked Incubators: Hothouses of the New Economy

the Internet economy. It shares certain features with other incubators—mainly, it fosters a spirit of entrepreneurship and offers economies of scale. But its key distinguishing feature is its ability to give start-ups preferential access... View Details

Keywords: by Morten T. Hansen, Henry W. Chesbrough, Nitin Nohria & Donald N. Sull

13 Sep 2004
Research & Ideas

Cash and the Woman-Owned Business

Building sufficient cash reserves to launch a business and managing subsequent fundraising are challenges for every entrepreneur, but they are particularly daunting tasks for women. Women often come up short of cash at View Details

Keywords: by Candida Brush, Nancy M. Carter, Elizabeth Gatewood, Patricia G. Greene & Myra M. Hart

20 Feb 2020
News

WeWork: How the ultimate unicorn lost its billions

July 2011 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Game Time Decision for AppDirect

By: Andrei Hagiu, Laura Arjona and Emily Zhang

AppDirect is a start-up that offers small businesses software-as-a-service solutions through a business app marketplace and portal. Daniel Saks, co-founder and co-CEO, is faced with the key question of deciding distribution strategy: should AppDirect find channel... View Details

Keywords: Digital Platforms; Distribution; Applications and Software; Innovation Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Business Growth and Maturation; Competitive Strategy; Information Technology Industry; United States

June 1993 (Revised April 1998)
Case

COMCO Holding AG (B): COMCO Martech

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter

COMCO Martech was a new breed of joint venture for COMCO Holding, a mid-sized Swiss-German company that had grown over a five-year period through tie-ups with small, start-up companies. Whereas a typical COMCO venture provided services to a large German retailer, was... View Details

Keywords: Joint Ventures; Business Startups; Trade; Operations; Environmental Sustainability; Business or Company Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Partners and Partnerships; Switzerland; United States; Europe

31 Mar 2011
Research & Ideas

From SpinPop to SpinBrush: Entrepreneurial Lessons from John Osher

told the audience of HBS alumni and Executive Education participants. "He hated having to manage employees, so he built a big company with very few employees." Dr. John's was the third major venture that Osher built from the... View Details

Keywords: by Dennis Fisher; Consumer Products

13 Aug 2018
Blog Post

Following My Dream: Launching a Venture

This summer, while most of my classmates pursued internships, I decided to work full-time on my start-up ‘smoodi’, which I recently incorporated. It’s been an amazing experience and I’m grateful for the support I received as a Harvard... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship

January 2011 (Revised March 2011)
Case

Predictive Biosciences

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Jeffrey J. Bussgang and David Kiron

A small cancer diagnostics start-up is deciding whether to acquire a laboratory to make and sell its bladder cancer test or build its own manufacturing and sales team. View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Health Testing and Trials; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Development; Biotechnology Industry

March 2019
Case

DayTwo: Going to Market with Gut Microbiome

By: Ayelet Israeli and David Lane

DayTwo is a young Israeli startup that applies research on the gut microbiome and machine learning algorithms to deliver personalized nutritional recommendations to its users in order to minimize blood sugar spikes after meals. After a first year of trial rollout in... View Details

August 1999 (Revised May 2000)
Case

E Ink

By: Teresa M. Amabile and Susan Archambault

E Ink is a high-technology start-up attempting to revolutionize print communication through electronic ink displays. The founders and top managers of this two-year-old firm are striving to translate a technological breakthrough into a working prototype, move from... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Entrepreneurship; Technological Innovation; Business or Company Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Industry Structures; Organizational Structure; Commercialization; Technology; Information Technology Industry

January 2003 (Revised May 2005)
Case

Zipcar: Refining the Business Model

By: Myra M. Hart, Michael J. Roberts and Julia Stevens

Zipcar is a start-up organized around the idea of "sharing" car usage via a membership organization. This case describes several iterations of the Zipcar business model and financial plan. These iterations include a very early version and a version developed just prior... View Details

Keywords: Service Operations; Renting or Rental; Business Model; Business Plan; Entrepreneurship; Economic Growth; Management Skills; Transportation; Business Startups; Financial Strategy; Corporate Finance; Growth and Development Strategy; Transportation Industry; Service Industry

April 2022
Supplement

Mastercard Labs (B)

By: Linda A. Hill, Sunil Gupta, Emily Tedards and Julia Kelley

When Ajaypal (Ajay) Banga became the CEO of Mastercard in 2010, digital technologies were on the rise, and innovation needed to become a strategic imperative at the company. Banga tasked Garry Lyons, who had joined Mastercard through the 2009 acquisition of Orbiscom,... View Details

Career Coach

Michele Chambliss

hiring/interviewing/performance management process in the West Coast office of a global management consultancy. She attributes a mid-career stint in strategic software sales for significantly honing her... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Technology

February 2000 (Revised April 2003)
Case

InSite Marketing Technology (A)

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Genevieve J.S. Feraud and Sheila L Marcelo

Introduces students to products and services that improve customers' online shopping experience. Also discusses the challenges of marketing new product concepts and finding funding for start-up ventures. View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Financing and Loans; Technological Innovation; Business or Company Management; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Service Delivery; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Service Industry; Web Services Industry

July 1990
Background Note

Note on Acquiring Bank Credit

By: Amar Bhide and Howard H. Stevenson

Outlines the issues and alternatives faced by start-up businesses in attracting bank credit. The topics covered are how to lay the groundwork for establishing a banking relationship, selecting a bank, preparing an application, and negotiating a loan. View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Credit; Financing and Loans; Management; Negotiation; Relationships