Publications

June 2013 (Revised July 2013)
Case

Blackstone Alternative Asset Management

By: Robin Greenwood, Luis M. Viceira and Jared Dourdeville

This case explores reasons for Blackstone Alternative Asset Management's (BAAM's) growth from 2007-2013, a time when the overall fund of hedge funds industry contracted substantially. Additionally, the case analyzes evolving business models and value propositions... View Details

Keywords: Hedge Fund; Fund Of Hedge Funds; Hedge Fund Industry Growth; Fund Of Hedge Funds Industry Growth; Evolving Business Models; Value Propositions In The Fund Of Hege Funds Industry; Business Model; Investment Funds; Growth and Development Strategy; Financial Services Industry; United States

01 Jun 2005
News

School’s Entrepreneurial Spirit Runs Deep

Contrary to popular perception, Harvard Business School isn’t just a training ground for future Fortune 500 CEOs, says author Jeffrey L. Cruikshank (PMD 51, 1986). Just as important, it’s a launching pad for thousands of graduates who... View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley; Shaping the Waves; A History of Entrepreneurship at Harvard Business School; Publishing Industries (except Internet); Information

March 2021
Case

CashDrop (A)

By: Rembrand Koning, Paul A. Gompers and Sarah Gulick

In July 2020, Ruben Flores-Martinez had launched a startup, CashDrop, which provided easy and cheap sales options for small businesses. The COVID-19 pandemic helped CashDrop quickly grow. Flores-Martinez, who had previously sought and been denied venture capital... View Details

Keywords: Payment Systems; Small Business; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Venture Capital; Online Technology; Technology Industry; Financial Services Industry; Chicago; Illinois

May 2012 (Revised November 2015)
Case

The National Geographic Society (A) (Abridged)

By: David A. Garvin and Annelena Lobb

In January 2010, John Fahey, president, CEO, and chairman of the board of trustees' executive committee of the Washington, D.C.–based National Geographic Society (NGS), must decide how best to organize the 121-year old mission-driven organization for a world of... View Details

Keywords: General Management; Change Management; Media And Publishing; Digital Convergence; Strategy Development; Business Models; Information Publishing; Online Technology; Business Model; Organizational Structure; Business Strategy; Publishing Industry

17 Aug 2010
News

HBS professor nabs lifetime achievement award from NVCA

November 2011 (Revised December 2012)
Case

Rent the Runway

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Laura Winig

Two months after a successful launch in November 2009, the cofounders of Rent the Runway (RTR), a website that rented designer dresses, are debating whether to grow their startup at a measured pace and focus on improving operational effectiveness, or raise a new round... View Details

Keywords: Lean Startup; Electronic Commerce; Fashion; Expansion; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; E-commerce; Fashion Industry

26 Nov 2001
Research & Ideas

Women Entrepreneurs Use Springboard for Funding

CEOs typically receive just 6 percent of the $69 billion available in venture capital in the United States, according to the VC research firm VentureOne. In an effort to boost the odds, 23 women took the podium at HBS as part of the... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

29 Mar 2010
News

Sir Ronald Cohen (MBA 1969) To Address HBS Students on Class Day 2010

William R. Kerr

William Kerr is the D’Arbeloff Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. Bill is Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Research, co-director of Harvard’s Managing the Future of Work initiative, and faculty chair of the... View Details

Keywords: venture capital industry; venture capital industry; venture capital industry; venture capital industry; venture capital industry; venture capital industry; venture capital industry; venture capital industry; venture capital industry

2016
Working Paper

Are 'Better' Ideas More Likely to Succeed? An Empirical Analysis of Startup Evaluation

By: Erin L. Scott, Pian Shu and Roman M. Lubynsky

This paper studies the uncertainty associated with screening early stage ventures. Using data on 652 ventures in high-growth industries, we examine whether experienced entrepreneurs, executives, and investors can predict the outcomes of early stage ventures by reading... View Details

Keywords: Commercialization; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups

SSRN

Read Now

May 2004 (Revised October 2004)
Case

Globe Telecom

By: Tarun Khanna, Krishna G. Palepu and Ingrid Vargas

The Ayala Group, one of the oldest and largest Filipino business groups, partnered with Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) to launch a telecom venture following industry deregulation in the Philippines. The partners must decide whether to continue the venture in... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Development Economics; Partners and Partnerships; Emerging Markets; Business Startups; Telecommunications Industry; Singapore; Philippines

Find at Harvard

November 1999
Case

Interactive Minds (B)

By: Ashish Nanda, Thomas J. DeLong, Christina L. Darwall and Scot H. Landry

Two recent Harvard Business School graduates start a venture capital/consulting firm focused on opportunities related to the Internet. View Details

Keywords: History; Venture Capital; Internet and the Web; Capital Structure; Entrepreneurship; Consulting Industry

05 Dec 2005
Research & Ideas

VCs Survey Post-Bubble Opportunities

annual Cyberposium conference held at Harvard Business School on November 19. As an industry, he suggested, venture capital has little to recommend it. "In the future, I see a median rate of return of... View Details

Keywords: by Julie Hanna; Financial Services

20 Dec 2019
Blog Post

Aspa Lekka (MBA 2020) Talks Dreams of Becoming a CEO, Handball, and Her Hometown in Greece

Aspa Lekka (MBA 2020) was a member of the Greek National Team for handball. Upon realizing she had global ambitions of competing in a larger world, she ventured out to Berlin to join a startup as a business... View Details

21 Aug 2014
News

Delivering Everything, Except Perhaps Profits

January 2020 (Revised July 2020)
Supplement

MoviePass: The 'Get Big Fast' Strategy

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher

In August 2017, MoviePass dramatically lowered its subscription price from $50 per month to just $10 for up to one movie per day. The idea was to rapidly scale the business to the point where they could generate incremental revenue streams form related businesses... View Details

January 2018
Case

Peak Games: Hiring Priorities in Times of Rapid Growth (A)

By: William R. Kerr and Gamze Yucaoglu

Sidar Şahin, founder and CEO of Peak Games, a Turkey-based global mobile gaming company, must decide on the final list of candidates for the critical global marketing director position the company has been trying to fill for over a year. Since its founding in 2010,... View Details

Keywords: Recruiting; Staffing; Emergent Countries; Entrepreneurial Management; Private Sector; Business Strategy; Decision; Growth Management; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Selection and Staffing; Talent and Talent Management; Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Value Creation; Organizational Culture; Decision Choices and Conditions; Technology Industry; Turkey