Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(118,357)
- Faculty Publications (303)
- October 2005 (Revised July 2009)
- Case
MD Beauty, Inc.
By: William A. Sahlman and Elizabeth Kind
Describes some of the issues confronting the entrepreneurial team responsible for creating a highly successful natural beauty and skin care company. They are considering selling all or some portion of the company's stock. View Details
- June 2005 (Revised July 2006)
- Case
fortu PowerCell GmbH
By: Michael J. Roberts, William A. Sahlman, Vincent Dessain, Monika Stachowiak and Anders Sjoman
Describes the financing, strategy, and growth decisions facing fortu, a young German battery company. The company is contemplating a facility in East Germany, where state subsidies make the finances appealing. A sudden offer to license fortu technology for application... View Details
- June 2005 (Revised August 2010)
- Case
Distrobot Systems, Inc.
Distrobot is a start-up that has developed a new system for warehouse automation. The company is trying to raise money to finance the launch of the product. The founder must decide how much capital to raise, from whom, and on what terms. View Details
- November 2004
- Case
Innocent Drinks
By: William A. Sahlman and Dan Heath
The three founders of a London-based, start-up smoothie company must decide between three growth options: expansion of the existing product line into Europe, extension of the brand into other product categories, or continued organic growth within the United Kingdom. View Details
- November 2004 (Revised May 2010)
- Case
RightNow Technologies
By: William A. Sahlman and Dan Heath
The founder and CEO of a CRM software start-up must decide between an attractive acquisition offer and the opportunity to go public. Discusses the growth of the company--including a lengthy discussion of entrepreneurial bootstrapping--as well as an aborted IPO attempt... View Details
- November 2004
- Case
ClozeX Medical (A): The New Standard of Wound Closure
By: William A. Sahlman and Ryland Matthew Willis
Describes a set of decisions confronting the founder of a company with a revolutionary new wound-closure product. He must decide how to finance and exploit his venture. View Details
- November 2004
- Case
Barry Diller and IAC/InterActiveCorp
By: William A. Sahlman and Ryland Matthew Willis
Describes a discussion involving Barry Diller and the top management team at IAC/InteractiveCorp. about whether to buy LendingTree.com. If so, at what price and on what terms? View Details
- September 2004 (Revised October 2005)
- Case
Mt. Auburn Partners Search Fund
By: William A. Sahlman and Dan Heath
Provides background on search funds and follows two partners as they try to raise financing for a search fund. View Details
- September 2004
- Case
Valhalla Partners Due Diligence
By: William A. Sahlman and Dan Heath
The Valhalla Partners venture capitial firm introduced a new approach to the due-diligence process. An internal due-diligence report analyzes Telco Exchange, a startup company in the IT software space. An extended excerpt examines the trade-offs involved in the new... View Details
- November 2003
- Case
Procter & Gamble 2000 (A): The SpinBrush and Innovation at P&G
By: William A. Sahlman and Ryland Matthew Willis
Describes a set of decisions confronting some managers in the oral care division of Procter & Gamble. They must decide whether to buy a company that has developed an inexpensive, battery-operated toothbrush. The company's product has done well in one market, but... View Details
- November 2003
- Case
Procter & Gamble 2000 (B)
By: William A. Sahlman and Ryland Matthew Willis
Supplements the (A) case. View Details
- November 2003 (Revised January 2005)
- Case
San Francisco Giants
By: William A. Sahlman and Elizabeth Kind
Larry Baer, executive vice-president and COO, was eager to improve profitability for the San Francisco Giants baseball team. Over the last few years, the Giants have had a number of successes. They successfully built the first privately financed ball park in over 30... View Details
- November 2003 (Revised March 2004)
- Case
Marv Tseu at Active Reasoning
By: William A. Sahlman and Christina Darwall
Describes a set of decisions confronting the management team of an early-stage software company. The company has made considerable progress in developing its software but will need additional capital to move forward. Unfortunately, conditions in the capital market are... View Details
- September 2003
- Case
Upromise 2002
Describes a set of decisions confronting the senior management of a company that has established a loyalty rewards program allocating cash to tax-advantaged college savings accounts for participants. The company has recruited a new CEO and needs to raise additional... View Details
- September 2003 (Revised May 2009)
- Case
CCBN.com - 2002
Describes some important issues confronting the management of a successful information company in 2002, competitive threat from a larger firm that is also a strategic investor. Management must decide how to respond to the. View Details
- September 2003
- Case
Allscripts, Inc.
By: William A. Sahlman and Laurence E. Katz
Describes a set of decisions confronting an entrepreneurial team that is considering taking managerial control of Allscripts, a health care venture. The company has gone through nine rounds of external financing and has changed its business model several times. View Details
- September 2003 (Revised January 2005)
- Case
Emergence, Valhalla, and Orchid: Divergent Models for Venture Capital Funds
By: William A. Sahlman and Matthew Willis
Compares and contrasts three different venture capital funds from the perspective of a potential investor. The first fund has a technology-enabled services preference, the second a Mid-Atlantic region preference, and the third a seed round preference. Students are... View Details
- September 2003 (Revised April 2004)
- Case
Charles River Partnership XI
Describes a situation confronting the management of a highly successful venture capital firm in April 2002. The industry has changed materially since it raised a $1.2 billion dollar fund, and the partners must decide whether to scale back the size of the fund. View Details
- August 2003 (Revised May 2009)
- Background Note
Basic Venture Capital Formula, The
By: William A. Sahlman and Matthew Willis
Briefly summarizes the process that venture capitalists use to analyze high-risk, long-term investments. Contains information on methods that can be used to calculate valuation, share price, percent ownership, implied valuation, dilution, and option pools. View Details
- January 2003 (Revised November 2005)
- Case
Endeavor-Determining A Growth Strategy
By: William A. Sahlman and Michael J. Roberts
Describes the progress of a nonprofit organization, Endeavor, focused on nurturing entrepreneurship in emerging markets. At the time of the case, it has successfully expanded to five Latin American countries and is contemplating the next phase in its growth.... View Details