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• Case | HBS Case Collection | January 2017 (Revised November 2020)

  Delivering the Goods at Shippo

  Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Jeffrey F. Rayport and Olivia Hull

  Laura Behrens Wu, CEO of software start-up Shippo, prepares her pitch for a Series A funding round following a successful seed round. Customer adoption of Shippo’s e-commerce dashboard application, which allows small and medium retailers to compare delivery rates between shipping providers and print package labels, has been steady in the nine months since it went live. But traction with the firm’s developer friendly product, an API that allows large enterprise customers to automate their shipping needs, had initially been slow until one customer single handedly tripled the API label volume in late August. Now in November 2014, with nine months of runway remaining, Behrens Wu must decide where to direct the company’s limited resources. Should Shippo stay focused on the app while raising the next round of funding, pivot to an API-focused strategy, or pursue both products?

  Keywords: application program interface; API; API strategy; customer cohorts; churn; retention; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Business Startups; Strategy; Transition; Customer Focus and Relationships; Technological Innovation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Valuation; Shipping Industry; Technology Industry; Retail Industry; San Francisco; California; United States;

  Citation:

  Bussgang, Jeffrey J., Jeffrey F. Rayport, and Olivia Hull. "Delivering the Goods at Shippo." Harvard Business School Case 817-065, January 2017. (Revised 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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• Article | Forbes.com | September 22, 2020

  Amazon's AI Is Learning New Rules to Win for the Holidays: With Stressed Supply Chains and Changing Consumer Behaviors, the Holidays Are Likely to Accelerate Amazon's Advantage

  Jeffrey F. Rayport and Niall Murphy

  Citation:

  Rayport, Jeffrey F., and Niall Murphy. "Amazon's AI Is Learning New Rules to Win for the Holidays: With Stressed Supply Chains and Changing Consumer Behaviors, the Holidays Are Likely to Accelerate Amazon's Advantage." Forbes.com (September 22, 2020).  View Details

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