article thumbnail

GE's Eco-Innovation Platform

Harvard Business Review

Comstock was telling me about the company's growing innovation platform, the GE Ecomagination Challenge which inspires collaboration between GE and entrepreneurs. It started as a business strategy that wrapped a handful of greener products into one brand story about helping both the environment and customers.

article thumbnail

How to Finance the Scale-Up of Your Company

Harvard Business Review

Contrary to conventional wisdom, the most dangerous period for entrepreneurs is not when they start up from scratch but when they scale up for growth. Many entrepreneurs who are propelled into a sudden growth trajectory think mostly about raising risk-sharing equity investment from venture capitals or private “angels.”

article thumbnail

Alphabet Isn’t a Typical Conglomerate

Harvard Business Review

Venture capitalists help entrepreneurs to scale their companies for an IPO or acquisition by another company. So Page and Brin are different from such legendary venture capitalists as John Doerr at Kleiner Perkins and Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowtitz, the two founders of Andreessen Horowitz.