More from these Authors

• Case | HBS Case Collection | November 2020

  Truebird—An AlleyCorp Venture

  Shikhar Ghosh and Shweta Bagai

  In December 2018, Kevin Ryan and Wendy Tsu faced an important decision – to finalize the CEO candidate for Truebird, an innovative, automated coffee café concept. Like many of AlleyCorp and Ryan’s companies, Truebird started with the observation of an unmet need – an inability to get good coffee at a reasonable price without a wait. Ryan’s track record as a serial entrepreneur included companies such as MongoDB, Gilt Groupe, Zola, and Business Insider. The commonality across AlleyCorp’s diverse businesses was a systematic process to ideation, led by Wendy Tsu, and an emphasis on the early Co-founder/CEO. Over the years, Ryan had refined his process of identifying the most appropriate person to serve as CEO. Two strong candidates had been shortlisted for the CEO position at Truebird. Unlike traditional approaches that used the reference check as a safety net, Ryan and Tsu considered reference check interviews as a stronger indicator of on-the-job performance. How should they structure a reference check process that would allow a complete understanding of each candidate? What questions should they ask when they found people who had worked with, or for, each of the candidates?

  Keywords: Startup; hiring; staffing; recruiting; Business Ventures; Finance; Leadership; Management Skills; Management Teams; Jobs and Positions; Job Interviews; Human Resources; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Technology Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States;

  Citation:

  Ghosh, Shikhar, and Shweta Bagai. "Truebird—An AlleyCorp Venture." Harvard Business School Case 821-030, November 2020.  View Details

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• Working Paper | HBS Working Paper Series | 2020

  Determinants of Early-Stage Startup Performance: Survey Results

  Thomas R. Eisenmann

  To explore determinants of new venture performance, the CEOs of 470 early-stage startups were surveyed regarding a broad range of factors related to their venture’s customer value proposition, product management, marketing, technology and operations, financial management, funding choices, team management, and founder attributes. Multivariate regression analysis shows that startups that employed lean startup management practices—in particular, an optimal rate of pivoting—had stronger seed equity valuation growth, as did new ventures that struck the right balance in recruiting for skill versus attitude and that professionalized human resource policies earlier. High levels of confidence in financial metrics—including estimates of unit economics, the ratio of customer lifetime value to customer acquisition cost, and total addressable market size—were also associated with strong growth in seed equity value. Valuation outcomes were not related to several founder/CEO attributes, including age, educational background, personality traits, and motivations for becoming an entrepreneur. Likewise, choosing angels versus venture capital firms as lead seed round investors did not predict subsequent growth in equity valuation, nor did decisions about partnerships to provide technology, operational capacity, or marketing support.

  Keywords: Startups; survey research; performance analysis; Entrepreneurship; Performance; Analysis; Business Startups; Failure; Surveys;

  Citation:

  Eisenmann, Thomas R. "Determinants of Early-Stage Startup Performance: Survey Results." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 21-057, October 2020.  View Details

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• Technical Note | HBS Case Collection | October 2020

  Firing at Startups

  Shikhar Ghosh and Shweta Bagai

  Keywords: firing;

  Citation:

  Ghosh, Shikhar, and Shweta Bagai. "Firing at Startups." Harvard Business School Technical Note 821-057, October 2020.  View Details

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