Publications

September 1995
Case

At Play Productions (A)

By: William A. Sahlman and Andrew S. Janower

September 2006
Case

Earthbound Farm

By: William A. Sahlman and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld

Describes a set of decisions confronting the senior management of Earthbound Farm, the largest organic produce company in the world. Focuses on what to do with an East Coast distribution center that is losing money but may be useful strategically. View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Distribution; Food; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Management Teams; Capital Budgeting; Business or Company Management; Business Strategy; Corporate Finance; Food and Beverage Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

September 1995
Case

Benjamin Rosen and Compaq

By: William A. Sahlman and Jason Green

Addresses the challenges faced by Ben Rosen and the company board of directors as continuing problems force it to make a decision about the ongoing governance of the firm. The issues are complicated by the current CEO and founder, Rod Canion, who has had, until... View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Management Teams; Business or Company Management; Corporate Governance; Problems and Challenges; Decision Making; Information Technology Industry

November 1994
Supplement

VideoGuide, Inc. (D)

By: William A. Sahlman and Jason Green

Supplement the (A) case. View Details

February 2016 (Revised January 2017)
Case

Raising Capital at BzzAgent (Abridged)

By: William A. Sahlman and Christopher Payton

September 2006 (Revised July 2009)
Case

BzzAgent, Inc. - 2005

By: William A. Sahlman and Caroline Perkins

Describes a set of financing issues confronting a rapidly growing company that uses "Word-of-Mouth" marketing techniques in promoting research, new products, or services. The company proposes to set the terms for a new round of venture capital it needs and to have... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Investment; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Value

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

Keywords: Business Exit or Shutdown; Applications and Software; Going Public; Management Teams; Finance; Strategy; Value Creation; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Acquisition; Computer Industry

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

Keywords: Venture Capital; Risk Management; Mathematical Methods; Valuation

December 2000
Case

SupplierMarket.com (A)

By: William A. Sahlman and Jared Stone

Describes a decision confronting the cofounders of a B2B Internet firm that focuses on the purchasing process for manufactured direct materials. The company has raised one round of capital from two prominent venture capital firms and must decide if it makes sense to... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Customers; Decisions; Venture Capital; Internet

September 1995
Case

Richina Capital Partners Limited

By: William A. Sahlman and Jason Green

Richard Yan and Suzanne Foels raise a $52.5 million fund to invest in Chinese companies in concert with major multinational companies. They face all the challenges of starting a business from scratch in addition to the challenges of operating in a cross-cultural... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Venture Capital; Problems and Challenges; Emerging Markets; Multinational Firms and Management; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Governance Compliance; Business Strategy; Expansion; Investment Return; China

June 2013 (Revised August 2017)
Case

Coupa

By: Michael Roberts and William Sahlman

The case describes the growth of Coupa, a software as a service platform for procurement / expense management. The issues in the case are around how fast to grow and how to finance that growth. The case includes a detailed financial model that will help students... View Details

Keywords: Managing Growth; Sales Force Management; Growth Management; Entrepreneurship; Salesforce Management

June 2018
Exercise

Venture Capital Term Sheets

By: Ramana Nanda, William A. Sahlman and Robert White

August 2016 (Revised August 2020)
Exercise

Entrepreneurial Finance Problem Set

By: Ramana Nanda, William A. Sahlman and Robert White

November 2014
Case

Oasys Water: Balancing Strategic Partnerships & Financing Decisions

By: Ramana Nanda, William A. Sahlman and Sid Misra

Oasys Water had developed a proprietary water treatment technology based on an innovative forward osmosis process that could remove dissolved solids from water more effectively and efficiently than existing technologies. As Oasys looked to scale, it was exploring... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Finance; Finance; Strategy; Entrepreneurship; China

February 1981 (Revised June 1993)
Case

Harris Seafoods, Inc.

By: William E. Fruhan Jr. and William A. Sahlman

Presents data relevant to a major capital expenditure--the construction of a shrimp plant. Designed to test student's ability to identify relevant cash flows, to estimate the cost of capital, and to decide whether or not to invest. View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Cash Flow; Cost of Capital; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Food and Beverage Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

August 1987 (Revised December 1998)
Background Note

Capital Market Myopia

By: William A. Sahlman and Howard H. Stevenson

Focuses attention on a phenomenon we call capital market myopia, a situation in which participants in the capital markets ignore the logical implications of their individual investment decisions. Viewed in isolation, each decision seems to make sense. When taken... View Details

Keywords: Capital Markets

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

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Product Launch; Medical Specialties; Corporate Finance; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

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

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Strategy; Management Teams; Business or Company Management

October 2002 (Revised May 2004)
Case

Intuit's New CEO: Steve Bennett

By: William A. Sahlman and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld

Describes the transition to a new CEO at Intuit, a successful software and financial services firm in California. The new CEO must decide what to change and how fast. He must also navigate within a culture everyone believes to be successful but he envisions can be... View Details

Keywords: Management Succession; Entrepreneurship; Organizational Culture; Applications and Software; Management Teams; Information Technology Industry; Financial Services Industry; California