Entrepreneurship
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- 16 Aug 2022
- Op-Ed
Now Is the Time for Entrepreneurs to Play Offense
With the specter of recession looming, many worried founders and executives are aggressively shoring up cash. But shrewd entrepreneurs are using these six tactics instead to gain advantage, says Jeffrey Bussgang.
- 26 Jul 2022
- Cold Call Podcast
Can Bombas Reach New Customers while Maintaining Its Social Mission?
Bombas was started in 2013 with a dual mission: to deliver quality socks and donate much-needed footwear to people living in shelters. By 2021, it had become one of America’s most visible buy-one-give-one companies, with over $250 million in annual revenue and 50 million pairs of socks donated. Later, as Bombas expanded into underwear, t-shirts, and slippers, the company struggled to determine what pace of growth would best allow it to reach new customers while maintaining its social mission. Harvard Business School assistant professor Elizabeth Keenan discusses the case, "Bee-ing Better at Bombas."
- 07 Jul 2022
- HBS Case
How a Multimillion-Dollar Ice Cream Startup Melted Down (and Bounced Back)
A Brooklyn-based ice cream shop was getting buzz, and Disney was pitching a brand partnership. So how did the business wind up filing for bankruptcy? A case study by Thomas Eisenmann and Lindsay N. Hyde examines the rise and fall—and recent rebound—of Ample Hills Creamery.
- 10 May 2022
- Research & Ideas
Being Your Own Boss Can Pay Off, but Not Always with Big Pay
Working for yourself might bring freedom and autonomy, but it increasingly comes with a major risk: low pay. Research by William Kerr explores the shifting sands of self-employment.
- 03 May 2022
- Cold Call Podcast
Can a Social Entrepreneur End Homelessness in the US?
Community Solutions is a nonprofit founded in 2011 by Rosanne Haggerty, with the ambitious goal of ending chronic homelessness in America. Its “Built for Zero” methodology takes a public health approach, helping communities across the US use better data collection and outreach to improve government processes and piecemeal solutions. In 2021, Community Solutions was awarded a $100 million grant from the MacArthur Foundation, and Haggerty and her team had to decide how to prioritize projects and spending to maximize the grant’s impact. Should they continue to focus on unhoused veterans or expand their work to include families and youth in need of housing? Senior Lecturer Brian Trelstad discusses Haggerty’s approach in his case, "Community Solutions."
- 22 Feb 2022
- Cold Call Podcast
How to Scale a Startup Marketplace for Used Furniture
AptDeco, a peer-to-peer marketplace for used furniture in the New York City area, was growing rapidly in the massive $120 billion furniture market, despite its complexity and high costs. Co-founders Reham Fagiri and Kalam Dennis were considering different options to scale the business, including converting sellers into buyers and vice versa, finding superusers to fuel the supply for their platform, expanding to new markets, and rebranding with a sustainability focus. Professor Ayelet Israeli and AptDeco co-founder Kalam Dennis discuss the best way to scale the business in the case, “AptDeco: Circular Economy Furniture Marketplace.” Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 25 Jan 2022
- Cold Call Podcast
How Footwear Startup Allbirds is Decarbonizing Fashion
In 2021, the footwear startup Allbirds was extending its product range into apparel and expanding beyond its online store to open more retail stores around the world. It was also freely sharing its know-how and material innovations with its competitors to try to scale its efforts to decarbonize fashion, by substituting natural materials for conventional petroleum-based materials and leather. But the company also had to find ways to remain differentiated, based on design and comfort. Professor Mike Toffel and Allbirds co-founder and CEO Joey Zwillinger discuss the growing environmental impact of the fashion industry and how the company managed the tension between advancing its environmental mission and staying ahead of competitors in the case, Allbirds: Decarbonizing Fashion. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 11 Jan 2022
- Cold Call Podcast
Can Entrepreneurs and Governments Team Up to Solve Big Problems?
In 2017, Shield AI’s quadcopter, with no pilot and no flight plan, could clear a building and outpace human warfighters by almost five minutes. It was evidence that autonomous robots could help protect civilian and service member lives. But was it also evidence that Shield AI—a startup barely two years past founding—could ask their newest potential customer, the US government, for a large contract for a system of coordinated, exploring robots? Or would it scare them away? Harvard Business School professor Mitch Weiss and Brandon Tseng, Shield AI’s CGO and co-founder, discuss these and other challenges entrepreneurs face when working with the public sector, and how investing in new ideas can enable entrepreneurs and governments to join forces and solve big problems in the case, “Shield AI.” Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 10 Jan 2022
- Research & Ideas
How to Get Companies to Make Investments That Benefit Everyone
Want more organizations to give back to their communities? Frank Nagle says the success of open source software offers an innovative—and unexpected—roadmap for social good. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 17 Sep 2021
- Research & Ideas
The Trial of Elizabeth Holmes: Visionary, Criminal, or Both?
Eugene Soltes explains why the fraud case against the Theranos cofounder isn't as simple as it seems, and why a conviction probably wouldn't deter unethical behavior from others. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 24 Aug 2021
- Cold Call Podcast
Why Did Pet Concierge Startup Baroo Fail?
In August 2017, Baroo Pet Care founder and CEO Lindsay Hyde wanted to continue expanding her pet services startup to new cities. In addition to raising venture capital, she needed to consider her growth strategy. Should she continue focusing on the needs of her early adopters or start tailoring Baroo’s services to more mainstream customers? And how fast is too fast to grow? Hyde (MBA 2014) joins Professor Tom Eisenmann to discuss how an early false positive signal from investors set an unsustainable course for her startup in the case, "Baroo: Pet Concierge," with additional lessons from Eisenmann’s 2021 book, Why Startups Fail: A New Roadmap for Entrepreneurial Success. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 16 Jul 2021
- Op-Ed
For Entrepreneurs, the Benefits of Slowing Down
After several heady months for startups, Jeffrey Bussgang offers radical advice for founders this summer: just chill. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 23 Jun 2021
- Research & Ideas
One More Way the Startup World Hampers Women Entrepreneurs
Early feedback is essential to launching new products, but women entrepreneurs are more likely to receive input from men. Research by Rembrand Koning, Ramana Nanda, and Ruiqing Cao. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 06 May 2021
- HBS Case
How Four Women Made Miami More Equitable for Startups
A case study by Rosabeth Moss Kanter examines what it takes to break gender barriers and build thriving businesses in an emerging startup hub. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 27 Apr 2021
- Research & Ideas
IPO or M&A? How Venture Capital Shapes a Startup's Future
To a cash-strapped founder, any funding seems like a win, but research by Rory McDonald and colleagues shows that much more is at stake when it comes to venture capital. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 30 Mar 2021
- Working Paper Summaries
Whose Job Is It Anyway? Co-Ethnic Hiring in New US Ventures
The impact of immigration has been particularly sharp in entrepreneurship, yet there is remarkably little evidence about how immigration in the workplace connects to the creation and scaling of new firms. The economic consequences of greater workplace and entrepreneurial diversity deserve closer attention.
- 15 Dec 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Biased Sampling of Early Users and the Direction of Startup Innovation
New ventures catering to female customers should be aware that the underrepresentation of women among early users on digital platforms can reduce the venture’s growth and chances of survival. As a result of gaining fewer early users, these ventures reduce future product development and are less likely to raise VC funding.
- 20 Oct 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Flight to Safety: How Economic Downturns Affect Talent Flows to Startups
The COVID-19 crisis makes it more difficult for small, young firms to attract talent as higher-quality candidates turn to more mature firms. Such “flight to safety” leads to a deterioration in the quality of human capital available for startups.
- 13 Oct 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Fencing Off Silicon Valley: Cross-Border Venture Capital and Technology Spillovers
This study of foreign corporate investment transactions from 32 countries between 1976 and 2015 finds these investments pose a trade-off: While they support young firms in pursuing innovations they could not otherwise afford, they also generate knowledge for the foreign investors.
Reinventing an Iconic Independent Bookstore
In 2020, Kwame Spearman (MBA 2011) made the career-shifting decision to leave a New York City-based consulting job to return to his hometown of Denver, Colorado, and take over an iconic independent bookstore, The Tattered Cover. Spearman saw an opportunity to reinvent the local business to build a sense of community after the pandemic. But he also had to find a way to meet the big challenges facing independent booksellers amid technological change and shifting business models. Professor Ryan Raffaelli and Spearman discuss Spearman’s vision for reinventing The Tattered Cover, as well as larger insights around how local businesses can successfully compete with online and big box retailers in the case, “Kwame Spearman at Tattered Cover: Reinventing Brick-and-Mortar Retail.”