Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 10, 2013

Crowdfunding has undeniable power, but rather than solve the problems of venture capital, it exaggerates them. The glamorous projects inevitably get the bulk of the funding, while more experimental, more complex, and more pedestrian projects lose out. Corporate venture capital can avoid some of these problems.

Venture Capitalist 8

Venture Capitalist Venture Funding Innovation Incentives 8

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 22, 2016

When it comes to consumer-facing service industries like e-commerce, media, and ride- or apartment-sharing, it’s not new to suggest that “software is eating the world,” to use the phrase of venture capitalist Marc Andreessen. Second, a number of important inputs have gotten cheaper.

Entrepreneur 8

Entrepreneur Contract Manufacturing Incubator Venture Capitalist 8

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 8, 2013

It also received its early stage finance from the U.S. Venture capitalists entered only after government funding had gotten the company to the critical proof of concept. Indeed, as the clean-tech sector demonstrates, the venture capital industry is proving itself more risk-averse than U.S. government agencies.

Venture Capitalist 8

Venture Capitalist Biotechnology Fashion Innovation 8

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 7, 2014

Venture capitalist Ben Horowitz of Andreessen Horowitz kicks off an inspired post on scaling by quoting the rapper Dorrough, who tells anyone with “a dollar in your pocket, a twenty in your wallet” to focus on one thing: “Get big. But once IDEO grew to hundreds of Palo Alto employees, even Kelley couldn’t sustain the intimacy.

Venture Capitalist 8

Venture Capitalist Brainstorming Proposal CEO 8

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 6, 2014

content (news, finance, weather) into two Chinese languages, and directory access to 20,000 web sites, an approach that the company had adopted elsewhere. The idea was simple: Combine the best of both companies into the new Yahoo China, which was projected to generate more than $25 million in revenue in 2004.

Chief Financial Officer 10

Chief Financial Officer Operations Learning-by-Doing IPO 10

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 24, 2017

Venture capitalists, who generally have been standoffish to the ICO phenomenon, are now becoming more interested in it for a number of reasons. ICOs are the Wild West of financing — they sit in a grey zone where the U.S. Just as venture capitalists are taking a hard look at this new phenomenon, so should we all.

Venture Capitalist 12

Venture Capitalist Due Diligence Finance Long-term 12

Harvard Business Review

JULY 19, 2016

In venture capital-financed, high-growth technology startups, only 9% of entrepreneurs are women. Of course, VC-financed tech startups are different from the general workforce. They suggest that’s why female entrepreneurs have trouble securing financing from venture capitalists.

Venture Capitalist 8

Venture Capitalist Finance Succession IPO 8

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 17, 2012

Project this image of the feminine ideal into the world of investing and the only "socially acceptable" roles for women are limited — perhaps doing due diligence as a "helper" or writing a check as a donor. So if you feel uncomfortable as an investor, here are two bullets to pack in your pistol: Investing is about financing dreams.

Finance 8

Finance P&L Due Diligence Hedge 8

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 26, 2016

We met with leaders at private equity funds, venture capitalists, and incubators, including Andreessen Horowitz and Playground. As projects advance and coalesce, new teams form to gather the skills and priorities needed. Gone are the days when the venture capitalists on Sand Hill Road were merely an elite cash dispensary.

Venture Capitalist 8

Venture Capitalist Company Succession Long-term 8

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 2, 2011

I spend most of my time at Babson launching projects in other countries to foster entrepreneurship , but I was in the U.S. Bravo venture capitalists. Entrepreneurship in financial services has been given a bad rap as one contributor to the economic crisis, but we desperately need innovative financing models for start-ups.

Venture Capitalist 15

Venture Capitalist Entrepreneur Microfinance Finance 15

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 1, 2013

The for-profit arm, Embrace Innovations, would raise money from venture capitalists — though our first screening criteria would be investors who were aligned with our social mission. While our primary focus is in India, Embrace is doing pilot projects with NGO partners in 10 countries, and we hope to further scale this year.

NGO 8

NGO Venture Capitalist Entrepreneur Short-term 8

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 28, 2013

The company’s website reported that Kickstarter has now funded over 50,000 projects , with pledges coming from over 5,000,000 individual backers. Since its founding in 2009, Kickstarter has helped fledgling projects raise nearly $1 billion in donations. How big a deal is this “democratization” of finance? Last week, the U.S.

Disruptive Innovation 8

Disruptive Innovation Finance Venture Capitalist Supply Chain 8

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 23, 2012

That is the problem: crowdfunding will at best be good only for the entrepreneurs and middlemen, paid for by unwitting consumers who simply cannot know enough about the highly risky ventures or the highly complex venture investing process to make informed investment decisions. I am referring only to equity crowdfunding.

Due Diligence 13

Due Diligence Venture Capitalist Entrepreneur Short-term 13

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 21, 2016

Rather than relying on venture capitalists and marketers to try to project nascent demand for new innovations, creators can directly reach out to customers and communities to refine ideas and gauge interest. The community owning the project often comes to feel a sense of ownership for the projects that they support.

Venture Capitalist 8

Venture Capitalist Project Diversity Technology 8