Publications
Publications
Show Results For
-
All HBS Web
(1,446)
- Faculty Publications (405)
Page 1 of
405
Results
→
- June 2021
- Case
uBiome
By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Olivia Graham
uBiome provided clinical tests that sequenced the DNA of human microbiome samples, providing data on health conditions directly to consumers or to prescribing physicians. Founded in 2012, the San Francisco-based startup raised $105 million from top-tier venture capital...
View Details
- May 2021
- Supplement
Hello Alfred: Come Home Happy — Operating the Business Model Exercise, Instructor Version
By: Joseph B. Fuller and Christopher Payton
On a mission to "automate the on-demand economy," Harvard Business School classmates Marcela Sapone and Jessica Beck launched Hello Alfred in 2013 to provide subscribers with an "Alfred" to complete various chores for a monthly fee. In early 2016, the company has built...
View Details
- March 2021
- Case
Astralis Group: Determining a Brand Strategy
By: Benjamin C. Esty, Mette Fuglsang Hjortshoej and Emilie Billaud
After launching a Danish esports company in July 2019, and going public in December 2019 with multiple brands associated with different games, the Astralis leadership team was contemplating a shift to a single, corporate brand. While the original arguments for...
View Details
Keywords:
Brand Strategy;
Esports;
Video Games;
Corporate Scope;
Positioning;
Ecosystem;
Brands and Branding;
Strategy;
Business Ventures;
Business Startups;
Entrepreneurship;
Ethics;
Sports;
Competitive Strategy;
Value Creation;
Diversification;
Games, Gaming, and Gambling;
Sports Industry;
Entertainment and Recreation Industry;
Denmark;
Europe
- March 2021
- Teaching Note
Afterpay U.S.: The Omnichannel Dilemma
By: Antonio Moreno and Anibha Singh
In 2018, Nick Molnar, the founder of the Australia-based online payment service Afterpay began its expansion to the U.S. market. The service had gained a loyal following in Australia by enabling customers to pay for online purchases through four interest-free...
View Details
Keywords:
Online Advertising;
Business Startups;
Business Growth and Maturation;
Business Model;
Business Organization;
For-Profit Firms;
Change Management;
Customer Value and Value Chain;
Customer Relationship Management;
Customer Satisfaction;
Financing and Loans;
Microfinance;
Global Strategy;
Marketing Strategy;
Market Entry and Exit;
Market Platforms;
Multi-Sided Platforms;
Product Development;
Supply Chain Management;
Business and Stakeholder Relations;
Networks;
Network Effects;
Online Technology;
Financial Services Industry;
Technology Industry;
United States;
Australia
- March 2021
- Case
VideaHealth: Building the AI Factory
By: Karim R. Lakhani and Amy Klopfenstein
Florian Hillen, co-founder and CEO of VideaHealth, a startup that used artificial intelligence (AI) to detect dental conditions on x-rays, spent the early years of his company laying the groundwork for an AI factory. A process for quickly building and iterating on new...
View Details
Keywords:
Artificial Intelligence;
Innovation and Invention;
Disruptive Innovation;
Technological Innovation;
Technology;
Software;
Technology Adoption;
Technology Platform;
Entrepreneurship;
Technology Industry;
Medical Devices and Supplies Industry;
North and Central America;
United States;
Massachusetts;
Cambridge
- February 2021
- Case
Braintrust: The Blockchain-Powered Talent Network
By: Christopher Stanton, Joseph B. Fuller and George Gonzalez
San Francisco startup Braintrust developed a talent network governed and incentivized by a blockchain token as a way to align incentives between clients and freelancers. The COVID-19 pandemic led to a rise of remote work and accelerated the growth of the platform;...
View Details
- February 2021 (Revised April 2021)
- Case
Marvin: A Personalized Telehealth Approach to Mental Health
By: Regina E. Herzlinger, Thomas Arsenault, Julia Kelley, Carin-Isabel Knoop, Andrew Nguyen and Eshani Sharma
More than one third of Americans were said to suffer some type of behavioral health ailment at some point in their lifetime, with many people requiring chronic therapy or intervention. Despite significant clinical needs, access to reliable treatment has been difficult...
View Details
- February 2021 (Revised July 2021)
- Case
TikTok in 2020: Super App or Supernova?
By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Dan Maher and Dan O'Brien
TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, was launched in 2012 around a simple idea – helping users entertain themselves on their smartphones while on the Beijing Subway. In less than a decade, it had become one of the world’s most valuable private companies, with investors...
View Details
Keywords:
Business Model;
Business Startups;
Business Organization;
Change Management;
Disruption;
Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues;
Global Strategy;
Health Pandemics;
Innovation Strategy;
Growth and Development Strategy;
Growth Management;
Brands and Branding;
Marketing Strategy;
Marketing Channels;
Network Effects;
Two-Sided Platforms;
Product Design;
Product Development;
Partners and Partnerships;
Opportunities;
Social Issues;
Mobile Technology;
Online Technology;
Value Creation;
United States;
China
- February 2021
- Case
Yellow Digital Retailers, Ltd.: Providing Solar Electricity to Transform Rural Africa
By: Lynda M. Applegate, Frank V. Cespedes and Michael Norris
In 2020, Mike Heyink and Maya Stewart, co-founders of the Pay-as-you-Go Solar company Yellow were considering how to grow their startup. They had achieved some success in their first market, Malawi, and had recently entered Uganda, where business was slower. What did...
View Details
- January 2021
- Case
Brigad: The Future of Work
By: Nien-he Hsieh, Elena Corsi and Daniela Beyersdorfer
In 2019 Florent Malbranche, CEO and co-founder of the French tech startup Brigad, pondered the next growth steps. Founded in 2015, Brigad’s objective was two-fold: to help restaurants and bars find qualified staff for punctual shifts, and to make it easier for...
View Details
- January 2021
- Case
ByteDance: TikTok and the Trials of Going Viral
By: William C. Kirby and John P. McHugh
Keywords:
China;
Technology;
Startup;
Start-up;
International Strategy;
Global Strategy And Leadership;
Innovation;
Political Risk;
Regulations;
Trump;
Foreign Policy;
Foreign Investment;
Social Media;
Chinese Internet Market;
Global Strategy;
Crisis Management;
Risk and Uncertainty;
Entrepreneurship;
Technology Industry;
China;
United States
- January 2021 (Revised March 2021)
- Case
Jumia's Path to Profitability
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Pippa Tubman Armerding and Gamze Yucaoglu
The case opens in September 2019 as Sacha Poignonnec and Jeremy Hodara, co-founders and co-CEOs of Jumia, the leading Pan-African e-commerce platform, are contemplating the company’s path to profitability in the aftermath of a fragile investor sentiment, as the company...
View Details
Keywords:
Retail;
Business Models;
Business Model;
Business Startups;
Emerging Markets;
For-Profit Firms;
Strategy;
Technology Platform;
Information Technology;
Technology Adoption;
Value Creation;
Globalization;
Entrepreneurship;
Competition;
Expansion;
Logistics;
Profit;
Resource Allocation;
Diversification;
Corporate Strategy;
Retail Industry;
Technology Industry;
Africa
- November 2020
- Teaching Note
DayTwo: Going to Market with Gut Microbiome
By: Ayelet Israeli
Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 519-010. DayTwo is a young Israeli startup that applies research on the gut microbiome and machine learning algorithms to deliver personalized nutritional recommendations to its users in order to minimize blood sugar spikes after meals....
View Details
Keywords:
Start-up Growth;
Startup;
Positioning;
Targeting;
Go To Market Strategy;
B2B Vs. B2C;
B2B2C;
Health ＆ Wellness;
AI;
Machine Learning;
Female Ceo;
Female Protagonist;
Science-based;
Science And Technology Studies;
Ecommerce;
Applications;
DTC;
Direct To Consumer Marketing;
US Health Care;
＂USA,＂;
Innovation;
Pricing;
Business Growth;
Segmentation;
Distribution Channels;
Growth and Development Strategy;
Business Startups;
Science-Based Business;
Health;
Innovation and Invention;
Marketing;
Technology;
Business Growth and Maturation;
Health Industry;
Technology Industry;
Insurance Industry;
Information Technology Industry;
Food and Beverage Industry;
Israel;
United States
- November 2020
- Case
Truebird—An AlleyCorp Venture
By: 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...
View Details
- November 2020 (Revised January 2021)
- Case
Zipline: The World's Largest Drone Delivery Network
By: Tarun Khanna and George Gonzalez
Zipline established the world's largest logistics network in Rwanda and Ghana by delivering medical supplies to hospitals via automated drones. The company is now looking to expand in the U.S. and partnered with Walmart to expand into home delivery. Zipline must...
View Details
- 2020
- Working Paper
Determinants of Early-Stage Startup Performance: Survey Results
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...
View Details
- October 2020
- Teaching Note
MobSquad
By: Prithwiraj Choudhury, William R. Kerr, Susie L. Ma and Bailey McAfee
- September 2020
- Case
Uber at a Crossroads (2017)
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Karen Elterman
This case describes the history of Uber, its business model—including the ways it differed from that of the traditional taxi industry—and its competition with Lyft. The case is set in 2017, a year in which Uber was plagued by even more scandals than usual, though its...
View Details
Keywords:
Business Startups;
Business Model;
Customer Satisfaction;
Fairness;
Values and Beliefs;
Price;
Profit;
Revenue;
Investment;
Government Legislation;
Business History;
Compensation and Benefits;
Resignation and Termination;
Employment;
Wages;
Lawfulness;
Leadership Style;
Leading Change;
Management Style;
Market Entry and Exit;
Two-Sided Platforms;
Product Design;
Organizational Culture;
Problems and Challenges;
Attitudes;
Strategy;
Competitive Strategy;
Expansion;
Transportation Networks;
Mobile Technology;
Technology Platform;
Valuation;
Transportation Industry;
Technology Industry;
United States
- September 2020
- Teaching Note
Miami's Tech Future (B): Building the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Joyce J. Kim
In 2017, Miami was rated #1 among U.S. cities for startups, but about 40th for “scale-ups” – growth companies. This case shows how leaders of incubators and accelerators supported startups and a culture of entrepreneurship, but also describes some factors limiting...
View Details
- September 2020
- Teaching Note
Miami's Tech Future (C): Reaching Another Miami
By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Joyce J. Kim
The effects of Miami’s startup scene have not reached many “left-behind” lower-income Black communities, which are disproportionately affected by problems such as segregation and racial discrimination, lack of transportation access, crime, education quality, government...
View Details