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• Case | HBS Case Collection | October 2018 (Revised March 2019)

  Sidewalk Labs: Privacy in a City Built from the Internet Up

  Leslie K. John, Mitchell Weiss and Julia Kelley

  By the time Dan Doctoroff, CEO of Sidewalk Labs, began hosting a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” session in January 2018, he had only nine months remaining to convince the people of Toronto, their government representatives, and presumably his parent company Alphabet, Inc., that Sidewalk Labs’ plan to construct “the first truly 21st-century city” on the Canadian city’s waterfront was a sound one. Along with much excitement and optimism, strains of concern had emerged since Doctoroff and partners first announced their intentions for a city “built from the internet up” in Toronto’s Quayside district. As Doctoroff prepared for yet another milestone in a year of planning and community engagement, it was almost certain that of the many questions headed his way, digital privacy would be among them.

  Keywords: public entrepreneurship; govtech; CivicTech; smart cities; city innovation; government innovation; privacy; Sidewalk Labs; Dan Doctoroff; Entrepreneurship; Public Sector; Consumer Behavior; Governance; Business and Government Relations; Innovation and Invention; Technology Industry; Public Administration Industry; Transportation Industry; Real Estate Industry; Canada;

  Citation:

  John, Leslie K., Mitchell Weiss, and Julia Kelley. "Sidewalk Labs: Privacy in a City Built from the Internet Up." Harvard Business School Case 819-024, October 2018. (Revised March 2019.)  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | October 2018 (Revised January 2019)

  Testing Autonomy in Pittsburgh (A)

  Mitchell Weiss and Brittany Urick

  Pittsburgh’s mayor had been among the first to welcome self-driving vehicles, but was now one of many needing to react after a pedestrian fatality involving an autonomous Uber in Arizona. He had originally preferred to roll out “the red carpet” instead of the “red tape”. Now he found himself needing to balance technological advancement and the city’s economic trajectory against public health and safety concerns and, simply, citizens’ fears. Post-Arizona, should he allow AV firms to double down on experimentation? When it came to testing new technology, how safe was safe enough?

  Keywords: public entrepreneurship; government innovation; government experimentation; autonomous vehicles; mayor; mayor peduto; cities; mobility; automation; Uber; argo ai; aurora innovation; aptiv; Entrepreneurship; Public Sector; Innovation and Invention; Transportation; City; Safety; Business and Government Relations; Transportation Industry; Auto Industry; United States; Pennsylvania; Pittsburgh;

  Citation:

  Weiss, Mitchell, and Brittany Urick. "Testing Autonomy in Pittsburgh (A)." Harvard Business School Case 819-059, October 2018. (Revised January 2019.)  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | September 2017 (Revised January 2019)

  Public Entrepreneurs? Picking a Path

  Mitchell Weiss and Matthew Segneri

  Direct entry into government remained an uncommon post-HBS path, with only 1%–2% of recent classes going directly into the public sector. But, for public-minded MBAs, government wasn’t the sole province for public problem-solving. MBAs could join or launch companies that sell to government (or directly to citizens), lead venture funds, operate as ecosystem partners, and more. What felt like a new array of opportunities, though, raised a host of additional questions: What does a career path for a public entrepreneur actually look like? In which sector (private vs. public) should I start? Should I run for elective office? What does that imply for how I pursue my career? And often, and perhaps especially, what do I need in order to be able to move back and forth between sectors? In the spring of 2017, four students in the MBA class felt incredibly fortunate. After two years of business school, strong opportunities awaited each of them. None was wanting for work. However, they still had to decide which posts to take at the moment, if any at all.

  Keywords: public entrepreneurship; careers; tri-sector athlete; job searching; government innovation; govtech; CivicTech; civic technology; civic innovation; government technology; MBA Class of 2017; Social Enterprise; Social Entrepreneurship; Public Sector; Government Administration; Job Search; Jobs and Positions; Innovation Leadership; Technology Industry; Public Administration Industry; United States;

  Citation:

  Weiss, Mitchell, and Matthew Segneri. "Public Entrepreneurs? Picking a Path." Harvard Business School Case 818-005, September 2017. (Revised January 2019.)  View Details

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