Venturing forth
Diapers in Brazil, heart disease diagnostic tools in Africa, and taxi services in Malaysia would seem to have little in common. But at Harvard Business School (HBS) last month, impassioned M.B.A. students were making the case that all three areas shared a key trait: They were underserved markets where new start-ups could succeed. As student finalists presented their ideas at the 15th annual HBS Business Plan Contest, they showcased not just ingenuity and business savvy, but the driving entrepreneurial spirit that increasingly guides the highly respected graduate institution. “I think this is what Harvard Business School is all about,” Dean Nitin Nohria told the crowd. “It’s a place where people can come and imagine extraordinary possibilities. This is what entrepreneurship at its core is.” In its first 100 years (1908-2008), HBS made its mark as one of the world’s best B-schools, and in recent decades as a golden ticket to competitive, high-paying jobs...