Publications

October 2003 (Revised December 2003)
Case

Orange Imagineering

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Todd H Thedinga

As a proven entrepreneur, Rich Miner has been successful in the start-up world. Now, following the acquisition of his start-up, he has established a corporate R&D/venture operation in America to serve as the "eyes and ears" of his European parent company, Orange... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Research and Development; Business Startups; Acquisition; Telecommunications Industry; United States; Europe

March 1998 (Revised October 1998)
Case

Siebel Systems (B)

By: Michael J. Roberts, Joseph B. Lassiter III and Nicole Tempest

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Software; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Sales; Information Technology Industry

February 2024
Supplement

Ada: General Updates

By: Reza Satchu and Patrick Sanguineti

Mike Murchison, cofounder and CEO of Ada, updates the audience on which investor he chose as well as how Ada has grown since its Series B. View Details

Keywords: Founder; Entrepreneur; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Growth and Development

September 2023 (Revised January 2025)
Case

To Found or to Cofound? That is the Question

By: Christina Wallace and Jo Tango

Entrepreneurs often struggle with the question of whether to found solo or alongside one or more cofounders. This case is comprised of three vignettes detailing common founding scenarios: the first-time technical founder; the serial commercial founder; and the MBA... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Decisions; Entrepreneurship; Partners and Partnerships

April 2019
Case

Boxed

By: Laura Huang, Andy Wu and Jiayi Bao

Boxed.com (“Boxed”) is an ambitious e-commerce retailer start-up, founded by visionary CEO Chieh Huang in 2013. From starting in Huang’s garage in 2013, to winning Emerging E-Retailer of the Year in 2016, to having 4 operational distribution centers in 2018, Boxed used... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Management; Business Startups; Leadership; Strategy; Success; E-commerce; Retail Industry

November 2011 (Revised February 2012)
Background Note

Location Choice for New Ventures: Choices within Cities

By: William R. Kerr and Alexis Brownell

Keywords: Business Startups; Urban Scope; Geographic Location

April 1984
Supplement

Johnson & Johnson (B): Hospital Services, James Burke, Video

By: Francis Aguilar

James Burke, chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson, discusses the decision to establish a hospital services company. The problem is that this new unit, created to serve 14 Johnson & Johnson companies, runs counter to the corporate culture where autonomy and... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Decision Making; Organizational Culture; Problems and Challenges; Health Industry

15 Apr 2016
News

Uber for MBAs Is a Worrying Sign

Keywords: HourlyNerd; Management of Companies and Enterprises; Management

07 Aug 2018
News

DreamBox Learning Breaks New Ground

and Richard Branson. The article notes that the new funding will support expansion into new, international markets. The funding also puts the company—and Woolley-Wilson—in rare company. With Rise’s $130 million check, DreamBox becomes one of the best-funded View Details

13 Mar 2019
News

The First Five Years: Sierra Smith and Taylor Wiegele (both MBA 2017)

Taylor Wiegele and Sierra Smith on Shark Tank (photos by ABC) How did you come up with the idea for Zorpads? Sierra Smith: “We started Zorpads as part of a school project for FIELD 3 (which apparently no longer exists as required curriculum!). Our team was... View Details

03 Oct 2014
News

Meet The Woman Who's Changing The Way You Spend Your Free Time

April 1998 (Revised November 1999)
Case

CitySoft, Inc.

By: Myra M. Hart, Marco Iansiti, Andrea H. Chermayeff and Diana S. Gardner

Two entrepreneurs are discussing how to scale-up their new company. They face a variety of issues, ranging from hiring and training to strategy and focus. View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Business Strategy; Business Growth and Maturation; Selection and Staffing; Internet; Web Services Industry

Find at Harvard

01 Sep 2003
News

Mark Fuller

Fuller Photo courtesy Monitor Group While many HBS grads hanker for a plum job with a major consulting firm, Mark B. Fuller started his own. He made the leap from HBS assistant professor to cofounder and CEO of the Monitor Group in 1982. Since then, the firm has grown... View Details

Keywords: Roger Thompson; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

August 2001 (Revised March 2004)
Supplement

Officenet (B): After the Merger

Describes the execution of a new economy merger. Officenet, a bricks-and-clicks retailer of office supplies, is sold to an Internet pure-play, Submarino.com. Officenet's founders are in Brazil, where the company recently expanded its operations, and must consider... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Startups; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Brazil

October 2020 (Revised February 2023)
Teaching Note

MobSquad

By: Prithwiraj Choudhury

Keywords: Business Ventures; Business Startups; Labor; Human Capital; Human Resources; Crisis Management; Employment Industry; Canada; United States

05 Nov 2009
News

What Makes Boston Special?

Keywords: Jeff Bussgang, MBA '95; Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Business Schools & Computer & Management Training

01 Dec 2017
News

Developing Insightful Global Leaders

HBS is committed to developing future leaders equipped with the cultural intelligence and skills required to operate in today’s globalized world. Key to this effort is creating opportunities for members of the School’s increasingly multicultural community to develop... View Details

May 1998
Case

Integral Vision Ltd. (A)

A stop-action simulation case takes participants through the process whereby four people (three young entrepreneurs and an investor) take a machine vision company from start-up to acquisition by a major publicly-traded company. Over several years, they have to... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Business Growth and Maturation; Acquisition; Business Startups