Sarasvathy met personally with all of her subjects, presenting each with a case study about a hypothetical start-up and 10 decisions that the founder of such a company would have to make in building the venture.

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Citizen scientists "are trying to turn that on its head, " says Raymond McCauley, who had come up with the idea for the vitamin study with Ms. Swan and works for a start-up that helps groups run their own studies and trials.

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Digital health start-up HealthPrize, which co-authored the Capgemini study, has borrowed some of these approaches that reward patients frequently and in small increments, and is testing them with two pharmaceutical companies.

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In 2005 and 2007, respectively, Systrom and Krieger were awarded Mayfield fellowships. (Only a dozen upperclassmen are chosen each year.) In an intense nine-month work-study program, fellows immerse themselves in the theoretical study of entrepreneurship, innovation, and leadership, and work during the summer in a Valley start-up.

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Meanwhile, the overall number of start-ups has "held steady or even edged up since the recession, " according to the study.

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