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Entrepreneurs provide the creative force capitalism needs to work. Entrepreneurs strive to make a difference in our world and contribute to its betterment. They are also motivated by achievement, independence, and the accumulation of wealth. In this chapter, we describe the characteristics of the people called entrepreneurs and the process they use to create new enterprises. We describe the four types of entrepreneurship used to respond to opportunity: incremental, innovative, imitative, and rent-seeking. Engineers and scientists often respond to the challenge to build important new enterprises by combining their knowledge of new technologies with sound business practices. The technology entrepreneur’s role in the improvement of an economy and the role of knowledge in the creation and growth of new enterprises are described. Finally, the firm or organization as the key structure for a new enterprise and the system of innovation used by new ventures are depicted.
Download Chapter 1 Text [PDF] for evaluation purposes. |
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Vinod Khosla and Sun Microsystems
Describes how Vinod Khosla got Sun Microsystems started, and a critical marketing challenge the company faced at the end of the first year. Objective is to illustrate how bold creative thinking can make or break start-ups.
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Heidi Roizen 1998: Career Strategy
Describes Heidi Roizen's career from graduation at Stanford University in 1980 through her career crossroads upon leaving Apple Computer in 1997. In the summer of 1997, Heidi is assessing different career options that will allow her to play to her strengths, enjoy her work, and achieve work-life balance that has become increasingly important to her as a parent. Heidi must find answers to the following questions: 1)What combination of career opportunities would allow her the greatest personal achievement and at the same time the greatest benefit for her family? 2)How would she leverage her experience in Silicon Valley as she examined her future options? 3)How long would she continue to try out the options before settling on a choice?
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Chemdex.com
An Internet start-up company is developing an online marketplace for specialty chemicals and reagents. David Perry has been named a runner-up in the 1st annual HBS Business Plan contest and now faces seed-stage financing questions--how much money to raise, at what valuation, in how many stages, and from whom.
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Vermeer Technologies (A): A Company is Born
Charles Ferguson has just heard from a venture capital (VC) consortium that it is willing to finance Vermeer Technologies, a company he has cofounded for developing Internet software. The funds are sorely needed, but the VCs have imposed some onerous conditions, including a request that Vermeer's first CEO be an outsider. Learning objectives include identifying several tasks that need to be performed before a business idea can be realized as a business entity. Highlights the process of early product definition and the key role of employee selection in building an organization.
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(DVD Section 1.4) Jeff Hawkins: The Genesis of Palm Computing
Jeff Hawkins talks about his life, his education and work experience. He started his career at Intel for 3 years and then moved to a start-up that he did not start. While working at the latter he created his first product - first pen-based computer. He soon realised that all personal computing ought to be smaller and simpler. With this thought he started on the path to try and accelerate this shift - and that was the genesis of Palm computing. |
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Jeff Hawkins: The Accidental Entrepreneur: Palm History
Hawkins on the development of Palm: I never really wanted to start a company. I consider myself an accidental entrepreneur, I was approached by two Venture Capitalists... I really wanted to build a small product, but I didn't want to build a company. My observation was that people who start companies have miserable lives. They work really hard, most of them end up divorced, and many of them fail and grow really depressed. It didn't look like an attractive thing to do. But I got people to agree to work with me on it...and I committed not to ruining my life by doing it. |
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Vinod Khosla: Bit by the Entrepreneurship Bug
Story of how the entrepreneurship bug grabbed him, Intel as first example of
role model. |
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Guy Kawasaki: Passion vs. Money
Whatever you are building, it's about passion, and less about the money. Your goals should be about changing the world, or making the world a better place. There are many people who set out to change the world a better place and didn't make a lot of money. But there are even more who set out to make a lot of money, did not make a lot of money and did not change the world. Kawasaki then talks about his experience growing up and thinnking that money was most important...he advises students to study abroad, to spend as much time learning as possible. |
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Frank Levinson: Top 10 Things you Must have to Start a Business
Frank Levinson's Top 10 Things You Must Have to Start a Business. This clip is all 10 items. |
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Guy Kawasaki: Entrepreneurs - Then (1997) and Now (2003)
Advice about foundation, priorities, financing, key employees, getting the word out, leveraging resources, scope, business development, raison d'etre, and the big picture. For example, a few years ago, cleverness was the priority. Today, expertise in technology is important...and we should be thinking of making the world a better place. |
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Thomas Byers: Top 10 Enduring Elements of Hi-Tech Entrepreneurship
Professor Tom Byers' top ten list covering the difference between an idea and an opportunity, the need to understand vision, strategy, risk and tactics, the context of the business, market positioning and partnerships, the purpose of the business plan , cash flow, sources of capital, teamwork, skills and ethics. |
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Characteristics of an Entrepreneur
Individuals get too much credit and blame for the fate of new ventures. This article poses the perspective that successful entrepreneurs are those who can develop the right kinds of relationships with others inside and outside their firm and that these intertwined groups should be recognized rather than individuals. |
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