Degree Type
Honors Capstone Project
Date of Submission
Spring 5-1-2010
Capstone Advisor
George Burman
Honors Reader
John Torrens III
Capstone Major
Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises
Capstone College
Management
Audio/Visual Component
no
Capstone Prize Winner
no
Won Capstone Funding
no
Honors Categories
Professional
Subject Categories
Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations
Abstract
The following Capstone Project delves into the topic of Internet entrepreneurship, specifically analyzing what it takes to turn an idea into a successful online venture. The first part of the project takes a look at the start-ups of Internet entrepreneurs, including both successes and failures. Such businesses include the CollegeBound Network, Apple, eBay, Twitter, Pets.com, Webvan, eToys, Kozmo, Facebook, Google, and Amazon. It addresses decisions that were made and how such decisions positively or negatively impacted the companies. By analyzing the businesses and their founders, we can gain much insight into what works and what does not. There were some common lessons learned among the discussed entrepreneurs. Many of the successful entrepreneurs focus on customer experience, placing a clear emphasis on their users. The failed companies prove that a business with a flawed idea is destined for failure no matter how well that idea is executed. Also, growing at a rapid rate creates much risk, and this is the cause of many business failures. The final part of the project discusses further research and studies that are helpful to those looking to create online startups. It identifies positive traits and the entrepreneurs that exemplify such characteristics. Also, it outlines the main ways to market an Internet business, refers to features that have revolutionized e-commerce, discusses the importance of venture capital for online startups, and reviews different types of Internet startups.
Recommended Citation
Cohen, Matthew Jared, "Entrepreneurship in the Digital Age" (2010). Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All. 368.
https://surface.syr.edu/honors_capstone/368
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
