FACULTY OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

MIT 8204: ENTREPRENEURSHIP & SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Case Study 1: Facebook (Due Feb 16)

Facebook is a social network website and service launched in February 2004 that is operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. As of January 2011, Facebook has more than 600 million active users, more than 1700 employees and offices in 12 countries. The company was founded by Mark Zuckerberg with his college roommates and fellow computer science students Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes. As of January 2009 Facebook was ranked as the most used social network service by worldwide monthly active users. Facebook is said to have turned cash flow positive for the first time in September 2009. In November 2010, based on SecondMarket Inc., an exchange for shares of privately held companies, Facebook was valued at $41 billion, surpassing eBay in value and becoming the third-largest US Web Company after Google and Amazon. Facebook has been identified as a possible candidate for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) by 2013.

Required: In this Case Study you are required to investigate this

firm focusing on its early development from a start-up to becoming a highly valued company. For example, what was the innovation that enabled Facebook to attract users and grow to beat the competition? How did the founders finance the early operations of the company? Was there any support from the government or public agencies for the company? What are the characteristics of the founders that probably contributed to the success of the company? What was the response of the competitors?

Length: Three (3) Pages Maximum