Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • November 2000
  • Case
  • HBS Case Collection

FireDrop

By: William A. Sahlman and Michael J. Roberts
  • Format:Print
  • | Pages:19 
ShareBar

Abstract

Describes the evolution of FireDrop, a new venture-backed company that has developed a new platform for e-mail communication. The FireDrop application--called a Zaplet--allows for e-mails to be continually updated so they are current when read (rather than when sent). The company has received several rounds of venture capital financing, and now it must raise another large round, simultaneously deciding which of six alternative business models to pursue.

Keywords

Business Model; Internet; Communication Technology; Venture Capital; Technological Innovation; Information Technology Industry

Citation

Sahlman, William A., and Michael J. Roberts. "FireDrop." Harvard Business School Case 801-214, November 2000.
  • Educators

About The Author

William A. Sahlman

Entrepreneurial Management
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • November 2020
    • Faculty Research

    Guild Education: Unlocking Opportunity for America's Workforce

    By: William A. Sahlman, Michael D. Smith, Nicole Tempest Keller and Alpana Thapar
    • October 2020
    • Faculty Research

    1366 Technologies: Surviving in a Fast Changing World

    By: Jurgen Weiss, William A. Sahlman and Joseph B. Lassiter III
    • January 2020
    • Faculty Research

    Khan Academy 2018 (Abridged)

    By: William A. Sahlman and Nicole Tempest Keller
More from the Authors
  • Guild Education: Unlocking Opportunity for America's Workforce By: William A. Sahlman, Michael D. Smith, Nicole Tempest Keller and Alpana Thapar
  • 1366 Technologies: Surviving in a Fast Changing World By: Jurgen Weiss, William A. Sahlman and Joseph B. Lassiter III
  • Khan Academy 2018 (Abridged) By: William A. Sahlman and Nicole Tempest Keller
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College