Underdog Brand Building - Publications - Faculty & Research

01 Sep 2023
News

Global Outposts Expand HBS’s Intellectual Footprint

Pacific Last fall, the center and the HBS Club of Shanghai hosted the 15th Annual HBS Entrepreneurship Forum. Titled “Convergency in New Dynamics,” it included both an online webinar and an in-person fireside chat that explored branding... View Details

Keywords: Jennifer Gillespie

03 Mar 2003
Research & Ideas

Top Ten Legal Mistakes Made by Entrepreneurs

entrepreneur if the entrepreneur stumbles? Do they have good contacts in the industry? In trying to build alliances, do they know the big players? A no-name firm offering the highest valuation is often not the best source of equity. #5:... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

29 Aug 2018
What Do You Think?

What Should Harley-Davidson’s Management Do?

term whims of the POTUS who will be out of office at some point.” Richard Eckel commented, “Screw the politics; run your business and innovate a strong brand into new markets Start with engaging the markets in Europe to View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Auto

25 Apr 2024
News

Origin Stories

ever did,” he says. “As a leader, trying to understand and appreciate the cultures of the countries where you do business is key to building bridges of trust.” Now closing in on his 30th anniversary as CEO, Hess describes how his father... View Details

Web

Online Entrepreneurship & Innovation Courses | HBS Online

Certificate Courses (8) Entrepreneurship Essentials Professor William Sahlman Master a proven framework for building and financing new ventures, and make your entrepreneurial dreams a reality. 4 weeks, 6-8 hrs/week Enroll by January 30... View Details

25 Jun 2007
Research & Ideas

HBS Cases: Beauty Entrepreneur Madam Walker

ashamed of my humble beginning. Don't think because you have to go down in the wash-tub that you are any less a lady!" "She Found A Way" Koehn landed on the story almost by accident while researching her 2001 book, Brand... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Beauty & Cosmetics

26 Jan 2022
News

Making Peace with Anger

negatively or poorly on Sheila and me. And my wife, Sheila, never, ever, ever would even think of uttering those words, but that was me. So it wasn’t like Sheila was building into that, that was all me. And as someone who is quite... View Details

23 Mar 2023
News

Winners Crowned in 2023 Alumni New Venture Competition

home the top cash prize of $75,000. Runner Up winner Hue earned a $25,000 prize. Led by cofounders Janvi Shah, Nicole Clay, and Sylvan Guo (all MBA 2022), Hue helps brands and retailers embed TikTok-style shoppable videos on its... View Details

01 Dec 2023
News

Case Study: Staking a Claim

Illustration by Nhung Lê Kate Terry (MBA 2005) knows that no one attends their fifth-grade career fair and comes home hoping to pursue a career in insurance—but that’s exactly where she wound up. “I really fell in love with it,” she says. As cofounder and CEO of... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint; Insurance Carriers and Related Activities; Finance

31 Mar 2011
Research & Ideas

From SpinPop to SpinBrush: Entrepreneurial Lessons from John Osher

years to finish college. “We want to play offense, we want to innovate, pilot, template it, build for scale, and go." —Mark Norman, Zipcar The meandering and seemingly random path that Osher took in his career and the lessons it... View Details

Keywords: by Dennis Fisher; Consumer Products

12 Mar 2021
News

My Favorite Case

four to one. When another premium brand lowers its wholesale price in an attempt to stimulate sales, Heublein’s president decides to increase the price of Smirnoff and put the additional revenue into advertising. This case taught me that... View Details

Keywords: Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Educational Services

06 Sep 2022
Blog Post

To Go-Go: A Foodtech Startup Serves Up Scale in Latin America

inherent to conventional restos by dealing strictly in virtual brands that rely on “ghost” or “cloud” kitchens, that is, standalone cooking facilities that lack physical dining spaces and serve customers exclusively through delivery apps.... View Details

28 Feb 2022
Blog Post

Making an Impact on the Media Industry with my MBA

you decide an MBA was the next step for you? I spent a solid amount of time building a real foundation and taking on new responsibilities at WME while witnessing a lot of change on an industry level. After such an incredible experience... View Details

01 Mar 2024
News

Come Sail Away

When Michael Sard (MBA 2018) arrived at HBS, he owned about 50 Hawaiian shirts. “It was one of the few items in a man’s closet that could have a ritual to it around going out, like a tuxedo does,” he says. Purchase options, however, seemed limited to two extremes:... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; entrepreneurship; manufacturing; career path; Apparel Manufacturing; Manufacturing

28 Jun 2022
Book

The Moral Enterprise: How Two Companies Profit with Purpose

How can government and business work together in this fractious political moment, when finding solutions to pressing problems like inequality and climate change are more urgent than ever? Rebecca Henderson, Harvard University’s John and Natty McArthur University... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

17 Jun 2017
Research & Ideas

Amazon, Whole Foods Deal a Big Win for Consumers

Source: 400tmax Editor's Note. Online retailing behemoth Amazon announced June 16 that it would acquire upscale grocery chain Whole Foods Market in a deal valued at more than $13 billion. Though the company has dabbled with the idea of a brick-and-mortar footprint in... View Details

Keywords: by Jose Alvarez and Len Schlesinger; Retail

25 Feb 2020
News

Task Force

world following China’s path. “It was an incredibly powerful wave that I wanted to ride—to build a digital business that would help people in emerging markets use their smartphones to connect to markets and improve their quality of life,”... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; gig economy; Retail Trade

October 2016
Supplement

24 Hour Fitness (B): Ownership Changes, 2005–2016

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In 2016, 24 Hour Fitness was the number-two fitness chain in the United States, generating revenues of $1.4 billion from 441 clubs serving 3.8 million members. Based in San Ramon, California, 24 Hour Fitness operated clubs in 13 states. Having grown rapidly to become... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Advertising Campaigns; Buildings and Facilities; Acquisition; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Customers; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Age; Training; Private Equity; Financing and Loans; Price; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Location; Geographic Scope; Health; Nutrition; Business History; Human Resources; Employees; Employee Relationship Management; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Journals and Magazines; Human Capital; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Teams; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Marketing Channels; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Social Marketing; Demand and Consumers; Market Entry and Exit; Media; Organizational Design; Private Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Groups and Teams; Sales; Salesforce Management; Situation or Environment; Welfare or Wellbeing; Sports; Strategy; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Segmentation; Information Technology; Internet; Mobile Technology; Online Technology; Software; Web Sites; Value; Valuation; Health Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United States; California; San Francisco

Citation

Purchase

January 2021 (Revised May 2023)
Case

Pearson: Efficacy 2.0

By: Elie Ofek, Marco Bertini, Oded Koenigsberg and James Weber

Pearson, which billed itself as the "world's learning company," faced a host of critical decisions in mid-2020. Several years prior, it had embarked on a new path that put the learner at the heart of the business and committed to a new strategic orientation. The new... View Details

Keywords: Efficacy; Learning; Outcome or Result; Measurement and Metrics; Brands and Branding; Marketing Communications; Strategic Planning; Education Industry