Why do startups fail? | Tom Eisenmann, Harvard University
Why 90% of all startups fail? This week, Harvard Professor Tom Eisenmann joins Mimi Nguyen to discuss his new book – The Fail-Safe Startup.
Focusing his research and his MBA class at Harvard University on the mistakes and missteps of entrepreneurs, for the first time, he reveals his findings, and – most importantly – how you can avoid them.
During their conversation, Tom tells Mimi about the potential failing patterns of early – and late-stage startups, debunking common Silicon Valley / Elon Musk / Rupert Murdoch’s mythologies. Plus, they delve into the changes over the last two decades in the MBA programme at Harvard Business School and discuss the future of innovation leaders training.
Listen here:
Tom’s book, The Fail-Safe Startup
Episode Highlights:
02:09: The concept of “betting the company” and Rupert Murdoch’s empires
05:08: What spurred Tom to study entrepreneurship failures?
10:29: The failure patterns in early-stage startups
21:00: Why the right resources are key and why we need to hire for attitude?
24:00: The failure patterns in late-stage startups
23:37: Ethics and MBAs
46:15: Combining MBA, engineering and design
Also published on Medium.
