In a recent study of European start-ups, one technique consistently boosted performance: the scientific method, a centuries-old discipline of formulating, testing, and tweaking hypotheses. Ventures employing it generated more revenues than those that didn''t and were also more likely to pivot away from unviable ideas, a necessity for early-stage firms. The key to pivoting is focusing not on your ideas but on the answers to your experiments, .....more

George Mason University''s Lei Gao and his co-researchers-Macquarie University''s Jianlei Han, Zheyao Pan, and Huixuan Zhang-collected birthplace data on 1,777 U.S.-born CEOs and determined how many decades each leader''s hometown had spent on or near the frontier during the country''s westward expansion. Examining accounting and patent databases, they found that firms led by CEOs from longtime frontier counties were .....more

Sequoia Capital, a venture capital firm founded in 1972, quickly grew to become one of the most storied venture capital firms in the world. Fueled by a strong culture and proven strategy, Sequoia's investment track recorded included the names of some of the largest global successes. However, times were changing. The venture capital industry at large was facing several challenges. Additionally, due to external geopolitical tensions, Sequoia .....more

This case introduces Indian-born Devita Saraf, the founder and CEO of the consumer durables company, Vu Technologies, as she embarks on her entrepreneurial journey to create and scale her venture. Devita started her career as a tech entrepreneur in India in the mid-2000s when there were very few women entrepreneurs in the tech industry. The case provides an interesting avenue for a discussion on the role of gender in starting and scaling entrepreneurial .....more

Although the author''s grandfather founded the oldest pharmaceutical company in Bangladesh, she never expected to follow in his footsteps. Raised in Roanoke, Virginia, she studied international development and law before working first as a corporate lawyer and then in the Obama administration. But when her mother fell seriously ill during a family wedding in Bangladesh-and Sinha discovered how difficult it was to get access to quality health .....more

In 1978, Jaipur Rugs was founded in a small village in Rajasthan, India. Over the next 40 years, Jaipur Rugs developed into a global business with strong social responsibility. Right from the start, the founder looked beyond profits to provide a source of livelihood and dignity of life to thousands of women in rural villages without formal education and no opportunities outside their homes. Over time, Jaipur Rugs grew into an empire that empowered .....more