Harvard Business Review

MARCH 28, 2014

Instead of – or in addition to — differentiating on the what of your brand, use the why, who, and how. Dove showed how to break through in a commoditized category like bath soap with a compelling purpose, to celebrate every woman’s unique and real beauty. How – personality. Why — purpose and values.

Brand 10

Brand IPO Marketing Strategy Airlines 10

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 4, 2016

But as a venture scales and becomes more complex , more operational and commercial sophistication is required to manage it. Silicon Valley lore offers examples of exceptional founder-CEOs, such as Salesforce.com’s Marc Benioff, who were able to lead their companies through an IPO.

Venture Capitalist 8

Venture Capitalist Sample IPO Long-term 8

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 6, 2014

By mid-2004, however, the operation was mired in conflict over control and differences in management style. Zhou reportedly felt that the original Yahoos were overpaid and lazy, whereas the Yahoo team felt bullied and believed Zhou wasn’t focused on the Yahoo operations. We were ready to give Ma the keys to Yahoo’s operations in China.

Chief Financial Officer 10

Chief Financial Officer Operations Learning-by-Doing IPO 10

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 10, 2016

On August 1 Uber announced that it is selling its Chinese brand and operations to Didi Chuxing for $1 billion, its annual burn rate in that market, in exchange for a 20% stake in the local competitor. The $1 billion burn rate in China was reportedly holding up its IPO, not just its expansion in other parts of the world.

Network Economy 8

Network Economy Globalization Discount Constraint 8

Harvard Business Review

MAY 24, 2013

I know how to find great people to hire. It was the CEO''s incredible persistence (and experience) in all aspects of selling — sales organization, compensation, pipeline management, and selling skills — that not only saved Voltaire from oblivion, but eventually propelled it to a NASDAQ IPO. We have to keep moving forward.

Entrepreneur 8

Entrepreneur IPO Open-book Marketing 8

Harvard Business Review

MAY 10, 2011

Consider Zipcar, whose recent IPO valued the 11-year old company at over $1 billion. While entrepreneurs are grasping for venture capital, the nation's leading firms seem puzzled about how to spend their money. This post is part of Creating a Customer-Centered Organization. Their lack of imagination stunts economic growth.

Venture Capitalist 12

Venture Capitalist Venture Funding Entrepreneur IPO 12

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 7, 2016

” When a data breach happens, there is nothing worse than trying to figure out how to manage the crisis on the fly as it is still happening. Here’s a generalized scenario similar to cases we’ve experienced: A hot new mobile technology company lands one of the most successful IPOs of the year.

Planning 9

Planning Company Crisis Brand 9

Harvard Business Review

MAY 30, 2013

If anyone knows how to succeed in intrapreneurship, it''s George. Investors are involved for the long haul, understanding that startup managers will have to experiment and fail along the way to a successful IPO. Anyone who has operated inside a big corporate will tell you that for any project, you might have an executive mandate.

Company 9

Company Ries Maturity Innovation 9

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 21, 2016

In 2000, with more than $100 million in negative cash flow, the company agreed to be acquired by Star Cruises, a leading cruise operator in Asia. The difference between employees who operate with the owner’s mindset and those who don’t can be as great as the difference between devoted parents and restless babysitters.

Company 10

Company IPO Price Loyalty 10

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 19, 2017

went public in June, then saw its stock price fall 70%, making it the worst performing IPO of a major company so far in 2017. The company tapped the brakes on marketing spend so that it could focus on operational issues associated with the opening of a new facility, and – sure enough – its customer count plummeted in turn.

IPO 8

IPO How To Metrics Bottom-up 8

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 10, 2015

In 2014, for example, 18 IPOs raised a record-breaking $9.8 So how do Israeli ventures scale up? We selected this benchmark because it reflects the phase in which companies have proven product viability, achieved initial product/market fit, and are now expanding sales and growing more complex operations. billion in 2013.

Venture Capitalist 8

Venture Capitalist Entrepreneur Marketing IPO 8