Andrew Hargadon

The Entrepreneurial Leap

This series of posts (finally) puts to words the approach, the ideas, and the tools developed and tested in the programs of the UC Davis Center for Entrepreneurship.

Our work focuses on the first of three critical moments in the life of a new venture—the entrepreneurial leap.  This is the moment (that can take months, or more if not careful) when the original entrepreneurs make the decision whether to start a new venture or not, and take the first steps that, often unknowingly, send them down paths they may take years, if ever, to recover from.

The ongoing series of posts focusing on the entrepreneurial leap can be found by visiting The Entrepreneurial Leap >>

Entrepreneurship as a career

People often think entrepreneurship is a one-idea, one-shot game: you have a great idea and you pursue it until it makes you rich or makes you run back home. That's a shame because it keeps people from exploring entrepreneurship as a career. It's like thinking the only career in music is to be frontman in a rock band. In truth, most entrepreneurs take part in multiple startups before launching their own, and they play many different roles besides the star.

Mark Suster's 7 lessons from failing

Entrepreneur and venture capitalist Mark Suster provides a great example of the educational value inherent in making mistakes. And, since the only thing that comes close to learning from failure is learning from other people’s failures, this is a great interview where he shares the main mistakes he made in his first company.

Designing the Revolution

Baked into most stories of technology revolutions is the misconception that new technologies disrupt older ones because of some distinctive advantage. Sometimes it’s just the opposite. From the light bulb to the computer to solar power, the fate of innovations (and of the companies that bet on them) hinges less on technical superiority than on the details of their designs. When developing new products, the challenge is to balance performance with the need to be accepted.

(to read more on The Hargadon Files, follow the link to Designing the Revolution)

From the Annals of Innovation: Nike's new breeding program

BEAVERTON, Ore. (May 08, 2013) – NIKE, Inc. announced today that scientists have successfully bred a Nike trainer with a Cole Haan saddle shoe.

Shifts happen

When quantity is a quality all its own... Some innovative work in wind turbines is interesting for both its potential and for the response it evoked.

(to read more on The Hargadon Files, follow the link)