What do you get when you have 500 million new internet users, a young and productive, burgeoning middle class and a workforce which defines global standards in technology? A vibrant and dynamic startup ecosystem i.e. India! Over the past 3 years, > $3 Billion was invested in startups in India. Leading venture investors like Sequoia,…
HBS Startup Anomalie: Breaking with Tradition
In the United States on average, there are 2.1 million people getting married each year. The industry is worth about $54 billion in the US and $300 billion globally. Most of the market has stayed the same over time, but with growth in the digital space, the market is slowly being disrupted by embracing new…
Time Travel & Tickets: An Interview With Kevin Hartz, Chairman Eventbrite
We all know Eventbrite as the platform where we buy (overpriced?) HBS event tickets – but what do we really know about the man behind this venture? Kevin Hartz, from the (in)famous Paypal mafia opens up about some other things that are also top of mind for HBS students (Networking, Silicon Valley and Communicating with…
HBS Women Lead in Closing the Entrepreneurship Gender Gap
Last year Rent the Runway partnered with UBS to launch Project Entrepreneur (PE), an initiative to provide women access to the tools, training and networks needed to build scalable, economically impactful companies. PE took shape as a multi-faceted national initiative that includes this robust digital hub, multi-city events, a venture competition, and a 5-week accelerator…
Skirt the Ceiling: Inspiring Women to Wear What They Love
I have a Pinterest vision board (don’t we all) that is dedicated to hot fire work outfit ideas, but all the photos on it consist of models in perfect lighting and expensive accessories my budget and reality don’t support. Who can actually wear culottes chicly to the office? When can I wear my cocktail dresses…
Campus Doorman – Simplifying #LifeatHBS
New HBS start-up aims to provide convenience to moving-in experiences at campuses nationwide. The Harbus sits down with Pete Rispoli (NB), an ex-Marine, to discuss the start-up that he has been working on since he first came to HBS. Having lived abroad in various locales throughout his military career, Pete understands the pains of relocating…
Sapphire Ventures’ Quiet Approach Speaks Volumes with HBS Alums
Ask any current HBS student with a background or interest in venture capital this simple question: “What is the best-performing venture capital fund in the world?” Likely answers include Sequoia, Accel, NEA, Greylock or Andreessen Horowitz – each a smart pick. Yet, a quick look at CB Insights’ list of the top VC funds with…
From HBS to Y Combinator: Life lessons from Qasar Younis, COO Y Combinator
Lucy Wang, HBS Class of 2017, interviewed Qasar Younis, COO of Y Combinator, on his route to becoming an entrepreneur and the lessons he learned along the way. Lesson 1: Just Do It “If you are a student at HBS, do it [entrepreneurship] now. You won’t have a chance like this, where you have time and…
Product Management: Your Coveted Internship This Summer?
Back in August when we incoming RCs were too intoxicated by the joy of starting business school or just too intoxicated from Yacht Week, we vaguely heard in the news that Harvard MBAs are shying away from investment banking and finance jobs. Then, the first two days of START coincided with the S&P 500 tanking…
Winning Sustainably: Harvard Students Make Top Ten Finalists in Morgan Stanley Sustainable Investing Challenge
Every year, Morgan Stanley runs the Sustainable Investing Challenge, which gives students a platform to create sustainable and profitable solutions to varying world problems. The organization’s study defines sustainable investing as “the practice of making investments in companies or investments which aim to achieve market-rate financial returns while pursuing positive social and/or environmental impact.” This…
Take it From the Guy who Created FOMO: One Job is not Enough
With graduation fast approaching, it’s natural to feel apprehensive about finding a job that will be both interesting and fulfilling. Even if you manage to find a position that meets your wildest expectations, how do you know that your initial excitement will last? According to Forbes Magazine, a recent survey by the Conference Board indicates…
Ideas are overrated: 5 Realities from a HBS Entrepreneur
I often hear people talking about how they really want to start a business, but don’t feel ready because they don’t have “the right idea”. They claim that as soon as the find the idea, they would take the plunge. Most successful entrepreneurs don’t wait for an idea to strike. They just start. Facebook started…
Justin Bieber Chooses Harvard Business School over Stanford
On March 30, Harvard Business School’s admissions board sent out final decisions to round 2 applicants. Shortly thereafter, sources reported that pop sensation Justin Bieber is among the batch accepted into HBS’ class of 2018. The cherry on top for HBS is that Bieber had been accepted into Stanford’s Graduate School of Business (GSB) earlier…
Resisting the Path of Least Resistance
By Tiffany Zhou, Harvard Business School Class of 2017 There’s been an odd gloom on campus lately, and I’m not talking about the weather. I’m talking about those of us who are still figuring out what to do this summer. It’s understandably jarring—we spent all of first semester philosophizing about leadership, changing the world, finding…
#OverheardOnWestrek – Tactical tips on how to break into start-ups, big tech and VC
By Jennifer Hurford, Harvard Business School Class of 2017 Secretly thankful you didn’t get any of those consulting/banking jobs you felt FOMOed into interviewing for? Here are some tips for getting a job in tech and VC brought to you straight from the mouths of HBS SF alums in big tech, start-ups, clean tech, and VC….
From Food Delivery to Shower Caps: Advice for FIELD 3 from an EC
By Tamara Zagorovskaya, HBS Class of 2016 This time last year, I joined a FIELD 3 team that was planning to disrupt the food delivery business. Coming from a finance background and never having caught the entrepreneurial bug, I was afraid of taking risks and dreading the forced “opportunity” to start a company at school….
International Surprises: The Best of Field 2 Travels
By Annie Lindseth, HBS Class of 2017 What could possibly happen when you send 900 MBAs to 12 countries to interview locals and develop new products? It turns out that you can’t anticipate everything, even with a GEO team organizing minute details. And that’s a good thing. Unexpected experiences made Field 2 travel more fun…
MBA Recruiting as Marketing and Sales
Harbus Sponsored Content By Zach Mayo, RelishMBA COO Before I started my MBA in 2013 at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, I worked in B2B sales for a series of small businesses and start-ups. I sold modular furniture sets, web marketing services, and software. I never had a passion for sales, and…
From Field 3 to Shark Tank: The Story of ‘Unshrinkit’
“How about $150,000 for 15% of your company?” asked Mark Cuban in a recent episode of Shark Tank. “Yes!!! We will take it!” The two founders on stage cried and hugged each other. They could not believe their goal of a $1M valuation while only giving up 10%-18% equity had come true. “DEAL”. This moment…
Leveling the Playing Field: Lower the Cost of Pursuing an MBA
With acceptance rates at top MBA programs ranging from 7% to 20% and recent studies showing that over 50% of MBA applicants use an MBA consultant, the cost for competing begins early in the MBA pursuit process and has steepened dramatically. This advice comes at a steep price, though: the average hourly rate for admissions…
A word from the ‘drop-ins’
For our August edition, The Harbus spoke to five (former) members of the Class of 2016, who decided to drop out of HBS to pursue a range of other opportunities. This month, we spoke with five new members of the Class of 2016 – people who dropped out after their first year, and have come…
The first six months of building a startup while at HBS: A reflection
For the past 6 months, HBS EC student Tess Brooks has been building Confi (confi.co), an online community for young women seeking advice on health topics that can be uncomfortable to talk about (OB/GYN, sexual health, mental health, communication, etc.). Here, Tess reflects on her experience as a first-time founder, working full-time on her startup…
Alumni Fashion & Apparel Recruiting Advice with ‘Adore Me’ Founder & CEO
The Harbus had the opportunity to sit down with HBS Alum Morgan Hermand-Waiche (MBA ‘10), Founder & CEO of apparel company Adore Me, and asked him to share his thoughts on the fashion industry, how he differentiates himself from competitors, and what he looks for in a successful applicant during his own recruitment process. Megan…
CREATING THE VIRTUOUS CYCLE: CAPITAL FOR FEMALE-LED BUSINESSES
This was originally posted on the WSA blog and appears here with their permission. EC and Women’s Student Association (WSA) VP of Entrepreneurship, Britt Danneman, shares her take on the other side of the entrepreneurship coin – early stage investing. You’ve heard a lot from us in the WSA and in the media on female founders…
You Could be the Warren Buffett of Social Investing
Eric Gastfriend (MBA ’15) is the co-Founder of Harvard University Effective Altruism Student Group. He explains why now is the time to pay attention to effective giving. Suppose I told you about an investment that would easily generate a 60x return in a few years with very little risk. And then I tell you that some of…
Alumni Advice: Nancy M. Williams (MBA ‘92)
HBS almuna Nancy M. Williams (MBA ‘92) sat down with The Harbus to share her advice and hopes for current and future business school alumni. Williams has had an incredible, varied career in the 23 years since she graduated from HBS. She is a renowned pianist who has performed at Carnegie Hall despite genetic hearing…
Five Days to a Billion-Dollar Company
With commencement and summertime upon us, Philip Levinson, HKS alum and Learn Capital Venture Advisor, shares the updated story of how two HBS students turned their five-day class trip in 2009 into CloudFlare. More than 900 HBS 1st-year students are now embarking on their summer endeavors and travels before returning this fall for their EC…
Commit to Start
As explained below, a group of EC students have together launched an initiative whereby their graduating classmates can create tangible goals for making a difference after their graduation. In this letter to the editor, EC Wyatt Smith (HBS ’15) discusses the program, called Commit to Start. [stag_dropcap font_size=”50px” style=”normal”]I[/stag_dropcap]t’s not always easy to envision the…
CEO seven months after HBS
Professor Kevin Sharer, former CEO of Amgen, shares the story of a HBS graduate who found himself the owner and CEO of a multi-million dollar company just seven months after graduating from his MBA. [stag_dropcap font_size=”50px” style=”normal”]W[/stag_dropcap]e at HBS are rightly and deservedly known as the institution most focused on the general manager’s view, and we…
Q&A with ‘Curated’ Founder Dave Verwer
[stag_dropcap font_size=”50px” style=”normal”]D[/stag_dropcap]uring The Harbus’ search for a time-saving, modern, easy-to-use, and effective platform to adopt for the execution and delivery of our weekly digital newsletter, we found new friends in UK-based software developer, Dave Verwer, and his company, Curated. Like most, we were a bit overwhelmed by how many curated content publication companies are…