Publications

October 2015 (Revised September 2019)
Teaching Plan

Yataro Iwasaki: Founding Mitsubishi

By: Geoffrey Jones and Jessica Burch

June 2008 (Revised September 2019)
Case

Yataro Iwasaki: Founding Mitsubishi (A)

By: Geoffrey Jones, Masako Egawa and Mayuka Yamazaki

Considers the entrepreneurial career of the founder of Mitsubishi, Yataro Iwasaki, who built a large shipping company against the opposition of powerful Western incumbents. Although sometimes supported by the Japanese government, and often times opposed, the case... View Details

Keywords: History; Leadership; Business History; Organizational Structure; Entrepreneurship; Business and Government Relations; Japan

15 Aug 2005
Research & Ideas

The Founding CEO’s Dilemma: Stay or Go?

Noam Wasserman is an assistant professor and MBA Class of 1961 Fellow in the entrepreneurial management unit at Harvard Business School. His paper "Founder-CEO Succession and the Paradox of Entrepreneurial Success," published in Organization Science in... View Details

February 2009 (Revised February 2011)
Case

"Lather, Rinse, Repeat": FeedBurner's Serial Founding Team

By: Noam T. Wasserman and Eric Olson

"Is this the right time or is it still too early?" Dick Costolo wondered as he reflected on the latest acquisition offer. He had been building FeedBurner with his three co-founders for almost four years and was staring at the details of an acquisition offer from... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Exit or Shutdown; Decision Choices and Conditions; Entrepreneurship; Negotiation Offer; Groups and Teams

September 2023 (Revised January 2025)
Case

To Found or to Cofound? That is the Question

By: Christina Wallace and Jo Tango

Entrepreneurs often struggle with the question of whether to found solo or alongside one or more cofounders. This case is comprised of three vignettes detailing common founding scenarios: the first-time technical founder; the serial commercial founder; and the MBA... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Decisions; Entrepreneurship; Partners and Partnerships

March 1978 (Revised December 1983)
Case

Founding of the European Economic Community

By: Bruce R. Scott and Audrey T. Sproat

Keywords: Globalized Economies and Regions; International Relations; Economy; Europe

Find at Harvard

January 2010 (Revised December 2012)
Case

Knight the King: The Founding of Nike

By: Noam Wasserman and Kyle Anderson

It had taken Phil Knight 16 long years to build Nike into the number one athletic-shoe company in the country. When Knight had first conceived of the company for an MBA class project, Adidas had had more than 80% market share, but Knight's marketing approach had... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Initial Public Offering; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Apparel and Accessories Industry

November 2011 (Revised March 2012)
Background Note

Resolving Your Founding Dilemmas: Insights from CareerLeader

By: Noam Wasserman, Timothy Butler and Lisa Brem

22 Mar 2022
Cold Call Podcast

How Etsy Found Its Purpose and Crafted a Turnaround

Keywords: Re: Ranjay Gulati; Technology; Retail

July 2013
Case

Slicing Pie with a Razor: Ockham Technologies' Founding Agreement

By: Noam Wasserman and Yael Braid

Ockham Technologies' three founders are about to craft their founding agreement and split the equity among themselves. Uncertainty lingers over each member's future contributions, though—how is the team to devise a durable and effective split? Jim Triandiflou and Ken... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Conflict Management; Governing and Advisory Boards; Employees; Management Teams; Product Development; Technology Industry

July 30, 2013
Article

You Found Your Product-Market Fit. Now What?

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang

Keywords: Sales

Register to Read

March 2015
Case

Entrepreneurial Finance Lab: A Founding Story (A)

By: Shikhar Ghosh, Joan Farre-Mensa and Christopher Payton

March 2017 (Revised January 2018)
Module Note

The Entrepreneurial Manager, Module 2 Part 2: Resourcing the Business Model – Team and Culture

By: Paul Gompers

Keywords: Founding Teams; Entrepreneurship; Organizational Structure

June 2011
Teaching Note

Knight the King: The Founding of Nike (TN)

By: Noam Wasserman

Teaching Note for 810077. View Details

Keywords: Market Participation; Public Ownership; Transformation; Business Startups; Going Public; Competition; Technology; Apparel and Accessories Industry

September 2009
Teaching Note

"Lather, Rinse, Repeat": FeedBurner's Serial Founding Team (TN)

By: Noam T. Wasserman

Teaching Note for [809089]. View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Mergers and Acquisitions; Decision Making; Negotiation Deal

May 28, 2019
Other Article

How Russia Found a Disinformation Haven in America

By: Rawi Abdelal and Galit Goldstein

The Mueller Report established that “the Russians” undertook information operations campaigns to meddle in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Though this has been clear for a long time, Americans continue to discuss Russian information operations in the wrong way.... View Details

Keywords: Elections; Donald Trump; Political Elections; National Security; Information Technology; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Social Media; Russia; United States