Start-ups

Luminopia-a start-up founded in January 2016 by three Harvard College freshmen-uses virtual reality technology to treat amblyopia (more commonly called...

This case is based on a hypothetical company that was newly established for a mobile gaming app. Before the company was incorporated, an experienced game...

Showpad is a growing startup whose founders are considering changes to spur growth. The options include changes to the product line, to pricing, and to...

Hop Compost (Hop) was a Canadian start-up that took food scraps destined for landfill and converted them to an organic, highly nutrient compost using...

Beginning with an ambitious, lean start-up effort in the highly competitive restaurant industry in Auckland, New Zealand, a husband-and-wife team built...

Describes the legal odyssey of two engineers who left their old employer to start a company that was directly competitive. The issues include employment...

TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, was launched in 2012 around a simple idea - helping users entertain themselves on their smartphones while on the Beijing...

In June 2016, Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, wrestled with how to sustain Israel's strong innovation track record and the country's...

This case traces the journey of Juan Pablo Zorrilla and Javier Velasquez as they conceive the idea for a debt-settlement business in Mexico, develop the...

Two months after a successful launch In November 2009, the cofounders of Rent the Runway (RTR), a website that rented designer dresses, are debating whether...

This case series describes the dilemmas encountered by Shenzhen Chasm Security Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Chasm Security") in its three rounds of funding...

The case opens in 2017 with two of the five co-founders of MISHA telling the company's CEO Michal Portz that they believe it is time for the global venture...

An entrepreneur was contemplating leaving his job at Goldman Sachs to start Global Source Healthcare, a healthcare outsourcing company focused on international...

By August 2015, Swiggy, an on-demand food delivery start-up, had been operating for almost one year in Bengaluru, India. The exponential growth of the...

SRS and the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) follows the process by which SRS, a lean maker of remotely-operated submersible vehicles, navigates the DIU's...

The founders of Maricopa, Inc., a startup that sold proprietery hair-care products directly to salons, were preparing a board presentation to address...

Supplement to case 719019

Case (B) is based on the China-U.S. trade war and discusses how this Chinese Internet security company with American capital raises Series C funding in...

eSig, an early-stage startup, offers an electronic signature application as a "freemium" product- i.e., users can upgrade from a free basic version to...

Diversify your product line. Stick to your knitting. Hire a professional manager. Watch fixed costs. Those are some of the suggestions that entrepreneurs...

In the past few years, a new methodology for launching companies, called "the lean start-up," has begun to replace the old regimen. Traditionally, a venture's...

Some start-up founders follow a business plan; others operate by the seat of their pants. This package looks at how entrepreneurs can carefully craft...

For decades now, venture capitalists have played a crucial role in the economy by financing high-growth start-ups. While the companies they've backed--Amazon,...

Why do people start businesses? For the money and the chance to control their own companies, certainly. But new research from Harvard Business School...

If you're launching a business, the odds are against you: Two-thirds of start-ups never show a positive return. Unnerved by that statistic, a professor...

Three lessons, based on a study of more than 200 senior-level executives.

Founders often look to incubators and accelerators to grow their startups. But there's another option.

Luminopia-a start-up founded in January 2016 by three Harvard College freshmen-uses virtual reality technology to treat amblyopia (more commonly called...

Youngme Moon, Felix Oberholzer-Gee, and Mihir Desai discuss whether WeWork's success is sustainable. Plus, can the government really spend as much money...