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
  • January 2013
  • Case
  • HBS Case Collection

Arthur Rock

By: Felda Hardymon, Tom Nicholas and Liz Kind
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:22
ShareBar

Abstract

Arthur Rock was known as one of the country's first venture capitalists and was instrumental in launching major Silicon Valley firms, such as Fairchild Semiconductor, Intel Corporation, Apple Computer, Inc., Scientific Data Systems and Teledyne Incorporated. He was the first venture capitalist to be featured on the cover of Time magazine. Rock was adamant that his success was due to luck and being in the right place at the right time. Others argued differently, emphasizing in particular his unique style of investing and his focus on selecting the right people. Was this a case of luck or a classic example of the principle: back the right people?

Keywords

Venture Capital; Success; Financial Services Industry; Technology Industry; California

Citation

Hardymon, Felda, Tom Nicholas, and Liz Kind. "Arthur Rock." Harvard Business School Case 813-138, January 2013.
  • Educators
  • Purchase

About The Author

Tom Nicholas

Entrepreneurial Management
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • February 2022
    • Quarterly Journal of Economics

    Taxation and Innovation in the 20th Century

    By: Ufuk Akcigit, John Grigsby, Tom Nicholas and Stefanie Stantcheva
    • January 2022 (Revised March 2022)
    • Faculty Research

    Chinese Restriction, Violence, and Exclusion in the United States

    By: Tom Nicholas, Boyang Han and Tomas Rosales
    • Business History Review

    How History Shaped the Innovator's Dilemma

    By: Tom Nicholas
More from the Authors
  • Taxation and Innovation in the 20th Century By: Ufuk Akcigit, John Grigsby, Tom Nicholas and Stefanie Stantcheva
  • Chinese Restriction, Violence, and Exclusion in the United States By: Tom Nicholas, Boyang Han and Tomas Rosales
  • How History Shaped the Innovator's Dilemma By: Tom Nicholas
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