William A. Sahlman

William A. Sahlman

Baker Foundation Professor
Dimitri V. D'Arbeloff - MBA Class of 1955 Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus

Baker Foundation Professor
Dimitri V. D'Arbeloff - MBA Class of 1955 Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus

Entrepreneurial Management
+1 (617) 495-6593
 
William A. Sahlman
Unit
Contact Information
(617) 495-6593
Publications Research Summary

Books
Books

Journal Articles
Journal Articles

Book Chapters
Book Chapters

  • Sahlman, William A. "Some Thoughts on Business Plans." Chap. 9 in The Entrepreneurial Venture. 2nd ed. by William A. Sahlman, Howard H. Stevenson, Michael J Roberts, and Amar V. Bhide, 138–176. Harvard Business School Press, 1999. View Details
  • Sahlman, William A. "The Financial Perspective: What Should Entrepreneurs Know?" Chap. 14 in The Entrepreneurial Venture. 2nd ed. by William A. Sahlman, Howard H. Stevenson, Michael J Roberts, and Amar V. Bhide, 238–261. Harvard Business School Press, 1999. View Details
  • Sahlman, William A. "Aspects of Financial Contracting in Venture Capital." Chap. 16 in The Entrepreneurial Venture. 2nd ed. by William A. Sahlman, Howard H. Stevenson, Michael J Roberts, and Amar V. Bhide, 304–325. Harvard Business School Press, 1999. (Originally published in Continental Bank Journal of Applied Corporate Finance 1, no. 2 (summer 1988): 23-36. Also reprinted in The New Corporate Finance: Where Theory Meets Practice, edited by D. Chew, 229. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1993. Part IV: 4.) View Details
  • Sahlman, William A. "The Horse Race Between Capital and Opportunity." Chap. 18 in The Entrepreneurial Venture. 2nd ed. by William A. Sahlman, Howard H. Stevenson, Michael J Roberts, and Amar V. Bhide, 335–350. Harvard Business School Press, 1999. View Details
  • Sahlman, William A. "Why Sane People Shouldn't Serve on Public Boards." Chap. 24 in The Entrepreneurial Venture. 2nd ed. by William A. Sahlman, Howard H. Stevenson, Michael J Roberts, and Amar V. Bhide, 441–449. Harvard Business School Press, 1999. View Details
  • Sahlman, William A. "How Small Companies Should Handle Advisers." Chap. 25 in The Entrepreneurial Venture. 2nd ed. by William A. Sahlman, Howard H. Stevenson, Michael J Roberts, and Amar V. Bhide, 450–458. Harvard Business School Press, 1999. View Details
  • Sahlman, William A. "Don't Fix What Isn't Broken." Chap. 4 in Financing Entrepreneurs, edited by C. A. Beltz, 61–65. Washington, D.C.: AEI Press, 1993. View Details
  • Sahlman, William A. "Aspects of Financial Contracting in Venture Capital." In The New Corporate Finance: Where Theory Meets Practice, edited by D. Chew, 229, Part IV:4. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1993. View Details
  • Sahlman, William A., and Howard H. Stevenson. "The Entrepreneurial Process." Chap. 5 in Small Business and Entrepreneurship, edited by Paul Burns and Jim Dewhurst, 94–157. London: Macmillan Education, 1989. View Details
  • Stevenson, Howard H., and William A. Sahlman. "Importance of Entrepreneurship in Economic Development." Chap. 1 in Entrepreneurship, Intrapreneurship, and Venture Capital: The Foundations of Economic Renaissance, edited by Robert D. Hisrich, 3–26. Canada: Lexington Books, 1986. View Details

Working Papers
Working Papers

Cases and Teaching Materials
Cases and Teaching Materials

All Publications

William Sahlman is a Baker Foundation Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School.

Mr. Sahlman received an A.B. degree in Economics from Princeton University (1972), an M.B.A. from Harvard University (1975), and a Ph.D. in Business Economics (1982), also from Harvard.  He joined the Harvard Business School faculty in 1980. 

His research focuses on the investment and financing decisions made in entrepreneurial ventures at all stages in their development. Mr. Sahlman has written numerous articles and two textbooks on topics including entrepreneurial management, venture capital, private equity, deal structuring, incentives, commercializing science, impact investing, and the role of entrepreneurship in the global economy. 

In 1985, Mr. Sahlman introduced a new second-year elective course called Entrepreneurial Finance. Over 10,000 students have taken that course since it was first offered. In 2000, Mr. Sahlman helped design and introduce The Entrepreneurial Manager, a required course in the First Year MBA curriculum.  In 2017, Mr. Sahlman developed an HBS Online course called Entrepreneurship Essentials.  In 2020, Mr. Sahlman will introduce a new HBS course called Entrepreneurial Solutions to World Problems.  Mr. Sahlman has published over 200 cases and notes for classroom use.

From 2007 to 2016, Mr. Sahlman was Senior Associate Dean for External Relations.  From 2003 to 2016, he was co-chair of the Rock Center for Entrepreneurship.  He was co-chair of the Entrepreneurial Management Unit from 1999 to 2002. From 1991 to 1999, he was Senior Associate Dean, Director of Publishing Activities, and chairman of the board for Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. From 1990 to 1991, he was chairman of the Harvard University Advisory Committee on Shareholder Responsibility. From 2009 to 2015, he was chairman of the Advisory Committee for Harvard Stem Cell Science. 

Mr. Sahlman is a member of the board of advisors or board of directors of several private companies and organizations, including the McCance Center for Brain Health at Mass General Hospital.  He has been a director, advisor, and/or investor in over 200 companies, venture capital funds, and nonprofits. 

In April 2011, the National Venture Capital Association gave Mr. Sahlman The American Spirit Award, which was created in 1999 "to recognize individuals who have shown outstanding leadership by applying business skills, knowledge, expertise and resources to make a meaningful contribution to society."

Books
Journal Articles
Book Chapters
  • Sahlman, William A. "Some Thoughts on Business Plans." Chap. 9 in The Entrepreneurial Venture. 2nd ed. by William A. Sahlman, Howard H. Stevenson, Michael J Roberts, and Amar V. Bhide, 138–176. Harvard Business School Press, 1999. View Details
  • Sahlman, William A. "The Financial Perspective: What Should Entrepreneurs Know?" Chap. 14 in The Entrepreneurial Venture. 2nd ed. by William A. Sahlman, Howard H. Stevenson, Michael J Roberts, and Amar V. Bhide, 238–261. Harvard Business School Press, 1999. View Details
  • Sahlman, William A. "Aspects of Financial Contracting in Venture Capital." Chap. 16 in The Entrepreneurial Venture. 2nd ed. by William A. Sahlman, Howard H. Stevenson, Michael J Roberts, and Amar V. Bhide, 304–325. Harvard Business School Press, 1999. (Originally published in Continental Bank Journal of Applied Corporate Finance 1, no. 2 (summer 1988): 23-36. Also reprinted in The New Corporate Finance: Where Theory Meets Practice, edited by D. Chew, 229. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1993. Part IV: 4.) View Details
  • Sahlman, William A. "The Horse Race Between Capital and Opportunity." Chap. 18 in The Entrepreneurial Venture. 2nd ed. by William A. Sahlman, Howard H. Stevenson, Michael J Roberts, and Amar V. Bhide, 335–350. Harvard Business School Press, 1999. View Details
  • Sahlman, William A. "Why Sane People Shouldn't Serve on Public Boards." Chap. 24 in The Entrepreneurial Venture. 2nd ed. by William A. Sahlman, Howard H. Stevenson, Michael J Roberts, and Amar V. Bhide, 441–449. Harvard Business School Press, 1999. View Details
  • Sahlman, William A. "How Small Companies Should Handle Advisers." Chap. 25 in The Entrepreneurial Venture. 2nd ed. by William A. Sahlman, Howard H. Stevenson, Michael J Roberts, and Amar V. Bhide, 450–458. Harvard Business School Press, 1999. View Details
  • Sahlman, William A. "Don't Fix What Isn't Broken." Chap. 4 in Financing Entrepreneurs, edited by C. A. Beltz, 61–65. Washington, D.C.: AEI Press, 1993. View Details
  • Sahlman, William A. "Aspects of Financial Contracting in Venture Capital." In The New Corporate Finance: Where Theory Meets Practice, edited by D. Chew, 229, Part IV:4. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1993. View Details
  • Sahlman, William A., and Howard H. Stevenson. "The Entrepreneurial Process." Chap. 5 in Small Business and Entrepreneurship, edited by Paul Burns and Jim Dewhurst, 94–157. London: Macmillan Education, 1989. View Details
  • Stevenson, Howard H., and William A. Sahlman. "Importance of Entrepreneurship in Economic Development." Chap. 1 in Entrepreneurship, Intrapreneurship, and Venture Capital: The Foundations of Economic Renaissance, edited by Robert D. Hisrich, 3–26. Canada: Lexington Books, 1986. View Details
Working Papers
Cases and Teaching Materials
Research Summary
Entrepreneurial Finance
William A. Sahlman is examining the investment and financing decisions made at all stages in the development of entrepreneurial ventures. Related lines of inquiry concern the role of financial institutions in providing risk capital, and the role of government policy in influencing capital formation in the entrepreneurial sector.
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