"Case Studies in Entrepreneurship: Internet Startups by CS Grads"

Lee Hower, Point Judith Capital

I'll address the topic of entrepreneurship through a series of case studies of companies that were originally founded by software developers, architects, and researchers. These will primarily be startups that I've been personally involved with either as an entrepreneur (PayPal) or VC investor (Multiply) which were started by software developers and architects, though the discussion will also cover other companies. The cases will be clustered within my own area of focus (internet applications), though many of the lessons can be applied more broadly to other types of startups. I will also try to generalize some of the steps involved with actually starting a company, including the interests and process of working with venture capitalists.