Instructor Resource
Neck, Entrepreneurship, 1e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Case Notes
Chapter 7: Testing & Experimenting in Markets
Marissa Mayer: CEO of Yahoo
Summary
Marissa Mayer is one of the most famous and successful female business CEOs in history. She
was not always so well known. Born and raised in the rural farm country of Central Wisconsin,
Mayer studied hard and got involved in extracurricular activities in high school before earning
admittance to Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. After earning two degrees in
Analysis
Successful entrepreneurs tend to be highly proactive when it comes to experimentation. To an
Marissa Mayer is a sterling example of an entrepreneur who is willing to experiment with both
her career path and whatever current job she has. This experimental willingness is what led her
to accept a job with Google long before Google had become famous in the tech industry. While
As we now know, her experiment with Google paid off—big time. As a result, she was able to
embrace even larger experiments as the new CEO of a rival company—Yahoo. With the CEO
reins in her hands, she courageously experimented in an effort to rescue Yahoo from profit
doldrums that had dogged the company before Mayer arrived. Some of these experiments
Instructor Resource
Neck, Entrepreneurship, 1e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Sample Answers to Case Questions
Please include the questions along with the sample answers.
1. Marissa Mayer’s early successes were rooted in her proficiency as a student in math and
science. Why are subjects like math, statistics, logic, and critical thinking essential to
product experimentation and market hypotheses?
Sample answer: While elements of the qualitative sciences (atmosphere, aesthetics,
2. How might you apply the “Rules of Experimentation” to discovering and developing your
own entrepreneurship and leadership skills?
3. The “Storyboard” of Marissa Mayer’s life included participation in extracurricular
activities and engaging in entrepreneurship behaviors in high school and college. This
empowered her to begin developing leadership skills long before she ventured out into
the corporate world. What are you doing outside of the classroom to improve your own
life’s “Storyboard”?
4. Data generation is critical to market research and product experimentation. What
“Data” might you begin collecting to better prepare yourself for a career in
entrepreneurship (journal writing, subscribing to a professional journal or blog, asking
questions of entrepreneurial role models, seeking out a mentor, etc.)?
Sample answer: Answers may vary from student-to-student. As a means of class
5. Marissa Mayer’s executive opportunity at Yahoo came about because of her
outstanding work at Google, and skilled marketing of her own career along the way. In
what ways are you currently expanding or contracting future opportunities for yourself
based on your present performance as a student, employee, entrepreneur, networker,
friend, and human being. Secondly, how are you marketing your own career to achieve
future success?