Slides 0: Introduction
Slides 1: Industry Analysis
Slides 2: Competitive Advantage
Slides 3: The Nature of Information Goods
Slides 4: Monetization - Prices and Advertising
Slides 5: Switching Costs and Lock-in
Slides 6: Network Effects
Slides 7: Platform Markets
Slides 8: Innovation
Slides 9: Dynamic Pricing
Slides 10: Reputation
The cases can be found as a course packet: part 1, part 2 and part 3. You can also buy individual cases for $7 from the HBS website. There is another packet with cases from old finals.
Notes on the case method of teaching.
Advice for the case write-up. and examples.
24th Sep: Introduction to Cases and Walmart article.
30th Sep: eBay and Amazon (A), HBS 9-712-405 with Greg Isaacs.
7th Oct: HTC, HBS 9-712-423 with Steve Laub.
14th Oct: Twitter, HBS 9-710-455 with James Min
21st Oct: Square, Kellogg KEL-792 with Neil Pardasani.
28th Oct: Ford, HBS 9-614-018 with Terry Kramer.
4th Nov: Zillow, HBS 9-913-021 with Kieran Nolan
11th Nov: Veteran's Day.
18th Nov: Movie Theaters, Business Horizons, 2007, p. 491-501, with Andre James.
25th Nov: Happy Thanksgiving!
2nd Dec: Uber, HBS 9-316-101 with Julie Lee.
You will write the project about a company of your choosing. This will essentially be a mini case study. You should hand in a short proposal by Friday Nov 4th; we will then check that the plan is realistic. The final paper is due on the last day of class (Friday Dec 2nd). Please do not choose a company from the below examples or one that we covered in class. Each group must cover a different firm; priority is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis - please email your TA with your firm to register it. The log of companies can be found here.
How do you find a firm? An ideal firm would do something you have a particular interest in. It doesn't need to be big, but you should be able to find data about it. Search for the winners of the Crunchies, Bloomberg's top tech firms, Fast Company's most innovative companies. And if you're interested in a particular sector, try the Economist's Technology Quarterly.
Advice on the final paper proposal.
Advice on the final paper.
When thinking about the current state of the company, a SWOT analysis can be a useful checklist.
Some projects from Fall 2012: Airbnb, Quantcast, Sodastream, Uber.
Some projects from Fall 2011: Gilt Group, Rovio, Zipcar, the Domino's Pizza.
Some projects from Winter 2011: BlackBerries, Mindjolt, Net-A-Porter, the NBC Universal Merger.
Some projects from Fall 2010: Groupon, Nintendo, Playfish, Tencent QQ.
Rules for the final: You can take 10 single-sided pages of notes with you into the final (or 5 double sided). Calculators are allowed, but will probably not be needed. Blue books are not needed - you will answer on the exam itself.
Here are the cases for the old finals, and here are the questions:
Fall 2015 final on oDesk, HBS 9-411-078.
Fall 2014 final on Zillow, HBS 9-913-021.
Fall 2013 final on Brightcove, HBS 9-712-424.
Fall 2012 final on Foursquare, HBS 9-711-418.
Fall 2012 final on Dropbox, HBS 9-811-065.
Fall 2011 final on Electronic Arts, HBS 9-804-140.
Fall 2011 final on Huffington Post, HBS 9-810-086.
Winter 2011 final on Microsoft adCenter, HBS 9-908-049.
Fall 2010 final on Sermo, HBS 9-809-142.
Advice on the final
Startup UCLA has speakers and a summer accelerator program.
UCLA Blackstone Launchpad. Located in Covel Commons, Room 203. This is a resource center for students to find out about other groups, events, and have a place to meet other students to create their teams.
UConsulting, an organization at UCLA that provides students with resources and opportunities to break into the consulting industry.
Bruin Entrepreneurs is a student run group that meets weekly.
Bruincubate has a list of other entrepreneurship groups on campus.
Other accelerators: Y Combinator, Start Engine, Amplify LA, Launchpad LA.
This American Life on pitching to a VC.