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#263September 24, 20211:07:47

#222 - How to Get a Slice of Harvard's Billion Dollar Case Study…

About This Episode

Sam and Shaan break down the massive $280 million business behind Harvard Business Review's case studies and explore the line between 'faking it' and fraud in high-stakes startups. They also reveal the $35,000 result of their 'Five Minutes of Fame' NFT auction and detail the gritty, multi-year journey of Canva's founder to find her first investor.

Episode Description

In this episode Sam (@theSamParr) and Shaan (@ShaanVP) break down Harvard's publishing arm and how you can create something to get a slice of the action. Sam also shares how he would approach Trends if he were to make it again. They also talk about the end of the MFM NFT auction and Shaan recaps a LinkedIn post about the early days of Canva. --------- * Want to be featured in a future episode? Drop your question/comment/criticism/love here: https://www.mfmpod.com/p/hotline/ * Support the pod by spreading the word, become a referrer here: https://refer.fm/million * Have you joined our private Facebook group yet? Go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/ourfirstmillion and join thousands of other entrepreneurs and founders scheming up ideas. * The Canva story - https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/21-questions-from-aussie-startups-highs-lows-lessons-learned-perkins/ ---------

Show Notes

  • * (0:59) Shaan is jacked
  • * (2:53) Strength correlations to longevity
  • * (11:02) The MFM NFT
  • * (15:06) Harvard Business Review
  • * (25:35) Getting in on the case study game
  • * (31:37) Other spaces to make this work
  • * (34:58) Maybe don't fake it til you make it
  • * (39:50) On investor due diligence
  • * (45:33) Don't be this guy
  • * (53:42) The long path for Canva's success

Key Takeaways

1

Information monopolies can be built by becoming the 'credential' in an industry, as seen with Harvard's case studies which account for 80% of business school curriculum and generate more revenue than MBA tuition.

2

B2B content businesses should avoid 'middle-ground' pricing; they should either be sub-$100 impulse buys for scale or $10,000+ premium subscriptions for institutional 'fear-based' needs like crypto or D2C strategy.

3

Venture capital often relies on extreme trust and social proof rather than deep financial due diligence, which creates opportunities for both high-grit founders and sophisticated fraudsters.

Business Ideas Mentioned

Barstool Sports for Technology

Content & Media

Niche B2B Case Study Publishing

Content & Media

Institutional Crypto Education and Research

Content & Media

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Quick Stats

Duration1:07:47
Guests0
Ideas Discussed3
Topics0