Last summer, I had the opportunity to intern with Trunk Club, a men’s clothing service that makes it easy to find great clothes without any shopping. It was my first experience working at a start-up; when I joined, the company had just hit their first full year of sales, and was growing quickly. What makes…
Entrepreneurship
April 3, 2012
Reflections on a Failed Business Plan
It was disappointing, depressing, and, like everything else in the 6-8 weeks we’d taken to develop the plan, a tremendous learning experience, one I wouldn’t trade for anything.
Entrepreneurship
April 3, 2012
Venture Corner: CIMLS.com Discovers How to Open the Floodgates and Harness Data to Power Its Business
As a refresher, what was your business and your progress at the time of the last Harbus interview? CIMLS.com (The Commercial Investment Multiple Listing Service) is a commercial real estate research service. We collect and provide access to a huge database of information ranging from property listings to local market demographics www.replicabestsale.co.uk. At the time…
Entrepreneurship
March 27, 2012
Venture Corner: Distinc.tt Pivots to Create a Community of Communities
What industry are you in? “Location social.” Facebook paved the way for online social interaction and foursquare paved the way for location-based check-ins. Recently the social location sphere has shown a lot of activity (e.g. Sonar, Highlight, Glancee), suggesting that the market is ready. It’s a very exciting place to be right now. How has…
Entrepreneurship
March 7, 2012
ThredUp’s HBS Founders Master the Art of the Pivot
All Silicon Valley entrepreneurs know about The Pivot, the shift a start-up makes when it changes course with its business. Few recent HBS entrepreneurs have pivoted better or more boldly than James Reinhart and Chris Homer (both MBA, 2009) with their venture-backed company ThredUp, the leading online children’s clothing exchange. Reinhart, who also received his…
Entrepreneurship
February 15, 2012
Venture Corner: supperclub
What is your business? Supperclub is a group dating service that matches single graduate students and alumni on fun, casual group dinners designed to spark connections. In a world where many students and young professionals are frustrated with current dating opportunities, supperclub provides an opportunity to meet new like-minded people outside of one’s usual social…
Entrepreneurship
February 14, 2012
Venture Capital Goes xPerimental: Is the dot-com bubble repeating itself, or are we finally on the plateau of productivity?
Speak with any member of the staff of HBS’s Entrepreneurial Management Department, and he or she will describe a time when venture capitalists were like barbarians at the HBS gates www.replicabestsale.co.uk. They would snatch HBS and Harvard students from campus either through funding Harvard startups at huge valuations, or by incenting students to work at…
Entrepreneurship
November 19, 2011
i-lab Opening Day Photo Gallery
Check out these awesome photos taken by Harbus photography Derek Shi (HBS 2012). Be sure to check back with the Harbus later for detailed coverage of opening day. [portfolio_slideshow size=large]
Entrepreneurship
November 14, 2011
HBS-founded CloudFlare is Sky High
We know Google traces its roots to Stanford, Dropbox to MIT, and Facebook to Kirkland House, but what recent high-tech company will HBS be bragging about years from now. The answer could be CloudFlare, founded by HBS MBA ‘09 grads and Section D classmates Matthew Prince and Michelle Zatlyn. What exactly is this behind-the-scenes, 20-person…
Entrepreneurship
November 2, 2011
Entrepreneurship is Overrated
I mean, we really, deeply, unabashedly, lust after entrepreneurship. It’s the dream job. Do whatever you want! No rules! Your own office, your own schedule, everything exactly the way you like it. There’s all kinds of statistics pointing to our collective interest in the profession (though, rather than having me actually research and cite any,…
Entrepreneurship
November 2, 2011
Can’t Afford the Big Game? ScoreBig was Made for You
In a world with too many fees and not enough trust, ScoreBig offers a welcomed reprieve. The website allows the casual fan to pay deep discount prices for sporting or event tickets, but also alleviates the concerns of unfairness to season ticket holders or other individuals who paid face value for similar tickets. Adam Kanner…
Entrepreneurship
November 1, 2011
Listen, Learn, Communicate, and Change: How My Employees and I Transformed Union Corrugating Company
In 1992, just after graduating from HBS, I became President of Union Corrugating Company, my family’s metal roofing manufacturing business. The $9mm revenue company was in a severe state of decline replica breitling, facing operational red ink, the loss of a customer accounting for 25% of sales, outdated equipment, demoralized employees, and poor customer relationships,…
Entrepreneurship
October 26, 2011
(Business) Design: Fad or Fact?
Currently a Professor at Case Western University’s Weatherhead School of Management, Richard Buchanan is one of the world’s leading design theorists replica watches. Former head of Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Design, Buchanan joined Weatherhead’s faculty in 2008. He is also co-editor of Design Issues, a premier design journal published by MIT Press. Buchanan defines…
Entrepreneurship
October 26, 2011
Disrupting Innovation: Going Beyond the Buzz-Word of the Day
Why does design theory matter, what we can learn from it, and how we can practice it? I had the opportunity to speak to Tom Hulme (HBS ‘07), Design Director at IDEO London, on the topic of design and its integration with business //www.replicaforbest.co.uk/replica-breitling-watches-sale-for-uk.html, which enabled me to conclude that the concept of innovation is…
Entrepreneurship
October 21, 2011
Thinking with Our Stomachs
When I sat down for a Q/A session with Ferran Adria, head chef of the now closed renowned El Bulli restaurant, I thought I would experience a discourse on the culinary techniques and tastings that gained him recognition as the most influential chef in the world. Though we were not treated to a deconstructed martini…
Entrepreneurship
October 16, 2011
What the Heck is a Chief Innovation Officer?
A few months ago, Josh Yang sold his furniture and turned in his SFP lease. After landing a summer internship at a San Francisco-based mobile apps startup called Pulse, Yang was convinced that he would defer his second year of business school to continue on full time. However, just before starting at Pulse in June,…
Entrepreneurship
October 5, 2011
Open for Business: HBS’s Entrepreneurs-in-Residence, Part 3
Entrepreneurs-in-residence (EiRs) are quite possibly the best resource HBS has to offer the budding entrepreneur. With the patience of a FIN1 professor, the determination of an EC trying to get into Professor Malhotra’s Negotiation class, and knowledge equal to that of Dean Nitin Nohria himself, the EiRs come to HBS with one purpose: to help…
Entrepreneurship
October 4, 2011
Venture Corner: Warby Parker
Warby Parker is easily one of the hottest new e-commerce companies www.replicabestsale.co.uk. With stylish glasses priced at only $95 and the option to have pairs shipped to your home so you can try them on, I’m likely to buy two. But there is more to Warby Parker than just what meets the eye. Not only do they…
Entrepreneurship
October 3, 2011
Venture Corner: Qweek
What is your business? Qweek is a SaaS (software-as-a-service) workforce scheduling platform. The product helps service businesses like hospitals, fast food restaurants, banks, hotels etc. manage their workforce to both improve customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction and reduce costs. Our business does that by providing a tool for employees to state their work preferences, and managers…
Entrepreneurship
September 30, 2011
Peter Thiel Uncensored
Does modern financial theory make sense? Peter Thiel, founder of Paypal and prominent venture capitalist, says no, and does so strongly. Speaking to a packed Burden auditorium, Thiel attacked the view of the world that has taken root in America—a view in which individuals cannot possibly have definite, deterministic views of what life will be…
Entrepreneurship
September 28, 2011
Open for Business
Entrepreneurs-in-residence (EiRs) are quite possibly the best resource HBS has to offer the budding entrepreneur. With the patience of a FIN1 professor, the determination of an EC trying to get into Professor Malhotra’s Negotiation class, and knowledge equal to that of Dean Nitin Nohria himself, the EiRs come to HBS with one purpose: to help…
Entrepreneurship
September 27, 2011
Venture Corner: Vaiad, Part 2
As a refresher, what is your business? Vaiad is an automated self-serve platform that websites can use to sell ad space directly to advertisers. Currently, direct ad sales require a lot of back and forth by email or phone, which takes days or even weeks for each deal. Vaiad instead provides a common interface, integrated…
Entrepreneurship
September 21, 2011
Open for Business: HBS’s Entrepreneurs-in-Residence, Part 1
Entrepreneurs-in-residence (EiRs) are quite possibly the best resource HBS has to offer the budding entrepreneur. With the patience of a FIN1 professor, the determination of an EC trying to get into Professor Malhotra’s Negotiation class, and knowledge equal to that of Dean Nitin Nohria himself, the EiRs come to HBS with one purpose: to help…
Entrepreneurship
September 20, 2011
Eric Ries and The Lean Startup
On Wednesday, September 21, Eric Ries, an HBS entrepreneur-in-residence and author of the just-released book THE LEAN STARTUP, spoke at HBS and told would-be entrepreneurs to think fast. The author of the popular Startup Lessons Learned blog and co-founder of IMVU preaches the benefits of speed. How important is moving quickly, according to Ries? …
Entrepreneurship
September 20, 2011
Venture Corner: Taking the Leap
What is your business? CIMLS.com is an open commercial real estate listings service – essentially a huge database of commercial properties for sale and for lease. Most real estate deals are done through in person contacts www.replicaforbest.co.uk. By creating an online marketplace where all interested parties can search and list properties for free, we help…
Entrepreneurship, Features
September 13, 2011
Venture Corner: Take the Interview
Take the Interview offers a cloud-based video interviewing Software as a Service (SaaS) solution for employers and candidates. We are a filter between the resume review and the in-person interview and facilitate asynchronous (not-live), under-5-minute video interviews that employers can review anytime, anywhere. We deliver an efficient solution to screen and select the right candidate…
Entrepreneurship
September 6, 2011
Venture Corner: Sceneopolis
What is your business? Sceneopolis is a subscription service that helps you experience your city’s world-class arts and culture scene and revolutionize what it means to have a night out. We’re partnering with the best arts and culture organizations, restaurants, and bars to provide our subscribers with unique and curated social experiences that incorporate amazing…
Entrepreneurship
October 5, 2009
Lessons Learned: The Most Effective Face to Our Customers
Learning the Lesson that I was the most effective “face” to our customers took me a long time and was critical to our ultimate growth and profitability. In my Product Manager positions at GE and later as President of small Machinery Divisions I was often “trotted” out by the sales force to meet customers. Sales…