Bureaucracy gets a bad rap. Just the word conjures images of interminable meetings, endless lists of rules and annoying paperwork. But bureaucracy — or at least some aspects of it — may deserve a second look. Khonika Gope, a graduate student in Stanford University’s Department of Management Science & Engineering who is studying with STVP, ...read more
If you have a smartphone loaded with apps, you’ve probably observed that those apps can have wildly contrasting pricing schemes. Some products are free but stuffed with ads, while others charge a flat fee. Still others offer in-app purchases and upgrades. How would an entrepreneur building out an app decide which of these approaches to ...read more
Jason Rathje was an aeronautical engineer in the US Air Force when he began to notice something unusual. The Air Force regularly sought partnerships with private companies, but only a few were interested in applying—and those that were became regulars, seeking military contracts again and again. For certain projects, it wasn’t surprising to see the ...read more
Who would dominate the drone industry? It was an open question back in 2012, as two fierce rivals battled for market share: Berkeley, California–based 3D Robotics (3DR), and Dà-Jiāng Innovation Science and Technology Co. (DJI), of Shenzhen, China. Culturally and organizationally, the two ventures couldn’t have been more different. 3DR was flat and relied on ...read more
This project started as an idea for a scavenger hunt about the artifacts of entrepreneurship on Stanford University’s campus. I took this as an opportunity to introduce a variety of examples of entrepreneurship. In order to provide a well rounded perspective on entrepreneurship I made sure to include disciplines in the Humanities & Sciences. The ...read more
With the race to roll out autonomous vehicles thick with industry giants in the tech and traditional car-making sectors, why are Silicon Valley’s top venture capital firms even investing in upstart entrepreneurs looking to get in the game? Bottom line: The market is huge – both in terms of the types of products and services ...read more
Amazon’s $13.7 billion purchase of the Whole Foods Market chain, which is now a done deal, has grocery shoppers salivating at the thought of never having to walk into a supermarket again. Likewise, entrepreneurs and artisans behind the upscale products that fill Whole Foods’ shelves see the upside of Amazon leveraging its constant growth and ...read more
A few months after her failed bid for California governor in 2010, veteran Silicon Valley CEO Meg Whitman found herself on the couch, completely deflated. The team she built for her campaign, the crowds who cheered her on, the 5 million California votes — not to mention the personal fortune she invested — all for ...read more
Why are the best ideas often the ones that don’t seem to make sense? Bestselling author Adam Grant, one of the most influential management thinkers in America, recently came to Stanford to give a talk that was chock-full of counterintuitive tips for anyone seeking to be a better business leader — citing scholarly research and ...read more
Businesses and entire industries are coping with major uncertainty due to President Donald Trump: from carmakers that fear his next tweet, to health insurers who can’t set coverage rates because of the ongoing fight to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Rohan Bhobe is the CEO and co-founder of a technology startup that earned its chops ...read more