List of companies founded by Harvard and Radcliffe College alumni

  1. REDIRECT List of companies founded by Harvard University alumni

This is a list of companies founded by alumni of Harvard College and Radcliffe College, including people who attended the colleges but did not receive a bachelor's degree. This list is not exhaustive, as it only includes notable, well-documented companies. This list does not include those who only have graduate degrees from Harvard University. For companies by Harvard alumni in general, see List of companies founded by Harvard University alumni.

Harvard alumni have started a large number of companies.

In the table, ownership of public companies is shown by their STOCK symbol; companies which are now owned by other companies are listed with their ultimate owner in parentheses. "ND" ("no degree") means that the person pursued a degree program, but never received the degree. An asterisk at the beginning of the "Founder" column indicates that there were other founders who were not Harvard or Radcliffe College alumni.

List

Company

Ownership

Category

Year Founded

Harvard Founder(s)

3DO

Defunct

Video games

1991

*Trip Hawkins

3G Capital

Private

Investments

2004

*Jorge Paulo Lemann

Airbnb

Private

Travel

2008

*Nathan Blecharczyk

American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Non-profit

Learned society

1780

*John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin

athenahealth

NASDAQ:ATHN

Health care

1997

*Todd Park

Annals of Improbable Research

Private

Magazine

1995

*Marc Abrahams

The Atlantic

Private

Magazine

1857

*Ralph Waldo Emerson

Biogen

NASDAQ:BIIB

Biotechnology

1978

*Walter Gilbert

Boston Beer

NYSE:SAM

Beer

1984

*Jim Koch

Boston Manufacturing Company

Defunct

Textiles

1813

Francis Cabot Lowell

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Non-profit

Music

1881

Henry Lee Higginson (ND)

Boston Whaler

(NYSE:BC)

Marine

1958

*Richard Fisher

Broderbund

(NASDAQ:HMHC)

Software

1980

Doug Carlston, Gary Carlston

Cabot, Cabot & Forbes

Private

Real estate

1897

Francis Murray Forbes

Cabot Corporation

NYSE:CBT

Chemicals

1882

Godfrey Lowell Cabot

Carl M. Loeb & Co.

(merger history)

Brokerage

1931

*John Langeloth Loeb Sr.

Carsey-Werner

Private

Media production

1981

*Tom Werner

City Year

Non-profit

Education

1988

Michael Brown, Alan Khazei

Computervision

(NASDAQ:PTC)

Software

1985

*Philippe Villers

Connectix

(NASDAQ:MSFT)

Software

1988

*Roy K. McDonald

Dole Food Company

Private

Food

1901

James Dole

Electronic Arts

NASDAQ:EA

Game software

1982

Trip Hawkins

Facebook

NASDAQ:FB

Social networking

2004

Mark Zuckerberg (ND), Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz (ND), Chris Hughes

Fidelity Investments

Private

Financial services

1946

Edward C. Johnson II

Fitbit

NYSE:FIT

Wearable technology

2007

*James Park (ND)

Free Software Foundation

Non-profit

Software

1985

Richard Stallman

General Catalyst

Private

Venture capital

2000

*Peter Boyce, Spencer Lazar, Adam Valkin

Harvard Student Agencies

Non-profit

Student-run businesses

1957

John Munro, Dustin Burke, Greg Stone, John Giannetti, Theodore Elliot, Harold Rosenwald

Hughes Tool Company

(NYSE:BHGE)

Oil field services

1907

*Howard R. Hughes, Sr. (ND)

Lesley University

Non-profit

Education

1909

Edith Lesley (ND)

LinkExchange

(NASDAQ:MSFT)

Advertising

1996

Tony Hsieh

Massachusetts General Hospital

Non-profit

Hospital

1811

John Collins Warren, James Jackson, John Bartlett

Massachusetts Horticultural Society

Non-profit

Gardening

1829

William H. Sumner

Microsoft

NASDAQ:MSFT

Computer software

1975

*Bill Gates (ND)

Middlesex Canal

defunct

Infrastructure

1793

*James Sullivan (Hon.), Oliver Prescott, James Winthrop, Loammi Baldwin

Monitor Group

(Deloitte, private)

Strategy consulting

1983

*Joseph B. Fuller, Mark B. Fuller

Morgan Stanley

NYSE:MS

Financial services

1935

*Henry Sturgis Morgan

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Non-profit

Museum

1870

*Charles C. Perkins

Museum of Science (Boston)

Non-profit

Museum

1830 (as Boston Society of Natural History)

*Walter Channing (ND), George Barrell Emerson

NAACP

Non-profit

Civil rights

1909

*W. E. B. Du Bois, Moorfield Storey

National Lampoon

Defunct

Magazine

1969

Doug Kenney, Henry Beard, Robert Hoffman

The New Republic

Private

Magazine

1914

*Herbert Croly (ND), Walter Lippmann

New York City Ballet

Non-profit

Dance

1948

*Lincoln Kirstein

O'Reilly Media

Private

Publishing

1978

Tim O'Reilly

OkCupid

(NASDAQ:IAC)

Dating service

2001

Chris Coyne, Christian Rudder, Sam Yagan, Max Krohn

Old Mole

Defunct

Newspaper

1968

*Michael Ansara

Pacific Life

Mutual company

Insurance

1880s (Conservative Life, later merged with Pacific Life)

Frederick H. Rindge (ND)

Phillips Academy

Non-profit

School

1778

Samuel Phillips Jr.

Phillips Exeter Academy

Non-profit

School

1781

John Phillips

Polaroid

Private

Photography

1937

Edwin H. Land (ND)

Locks and Canals on the Merrimack River

Private

Infrastructure

1792

*Dudley Atkins (Tyng)

Samuel Cabot

(NYSE:VAL)

Wood stain

1877

Samuel Cabot IV

Shepley Bulfinch

Private

Architecture

1874

H.H. Richardson (ND)

SparkNotes

(NYSE:BKS)

Publisher

1999

Chris Coyne, Christian Rudder, Sam Yagan, Max Krohn

Staples

Private

Office supplies

1986

Leo Kahn, Thomas G. Stemberg

Sun Microsystems

(NYSE:ORCL)

Computer hardware

1982

*Scott McNealy

Talbots

Private

Clothing

1947

*Nancy Talbot (ND)

Textron

NYSE:TXT

Conglomerate

1923

Royal Little

TripAdvisor

NASDAQ:TRIP

Web service

2000

Steve Kaufer

Viacom 1971-2006

(NYSE:CBS, NASDAQ:VIA)

Media

1971

Sumner Redstone

WGBH Educational Foundation

Non-profit

Broadcasting

1951

Ralph Lowell

Yale University

Non-profit

University

1701

*James Pierpont

See also