Why do startups fail? | Tom Eisenmann, Harvard University

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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.

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Buy 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