Publications

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

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Finance Awards & Honors - Faculty & Research

with Vikram Gandhi. Paul A. Gompers : Winner of the 2021 Doriot Award for the Best Private Equity Research Paper for “How Do Venture Capitalists Make Decisions?” ( Journal of Financial Economics , January 2020) with View Details

December 2010
Background Note

Risk and Reward in Venture Capital

By: William A. Sahlman

This note describes the payoff structure of investment in individual venture capital–backed companies and in venture capital portfolios. Venture Capital investments are characterized by high failure rate (0ver 50%) and a small number of given successes (greater than... View Details

Keywords: Capital Markets; Venture Capital; Investment Return; Investment Portfolio; Analytics and Data Science; Failure; Performance; Information Technology

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Online Entrepreneurship & Innovation Courses | HBS Online

Certificate Courses (8) Entrepreneurship Essentials Professor William Sahlman Master a proven framework for building and financing new ventures, and make your entrepreneurial dreams a reality. 4 weeks, 6-8... View Details

24 Apr 2014
News

Developing leaders who can handle complex business decisions

Professor William A. Sahlman (MBA 1975, PhDBE 1982) talks about case discussions and the transformative experience for students at Harvard Business School. (Published April... View Details

October 1995
Case

Centex Telemanagement, Inc. (A)

By: William A. Sahlman and Andrew S. Janower

Contains a description of the events surrounding the financing of Centex Telemanagement, Inc. by Sierra Ventures, a venture capital fund. The case is written from the perspective of the venture capitalists and is designed to teach students about the process of venture... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans

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Buy Now, Pay Later &mdash Easy Payments: The Rise of Installment Selling

their hard-sell “dollar down, dollar a week” tactics. The company’s aggressive salespeople and easy payments made Singer one of the first multinational corporations. 19 18 William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation, 1620–1647 , ed. Samuel... View Details

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Marketing Awards & Honors - Faculty & Research

Management by vote of the graduating MBA students. Anita Elberse : Received the 2011 Charles M. Williams Award for "outstanding and effective teaching" in the MBA program, awarded View Details

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General Management Awards & Honors - Faculty & Research

Healthcare Executives in 2017. William C. Kirby : Awarded a Dr. Phil. Honoris Causa (Honorary Doctorate) by Hong Kong Baptist University in 2017. Nancy F. Koehn : Recipient of the 2017 Jennie F. McLaughlin... View Details

10 Nov 2009
First Look

First Look: Nov. 10

L. Bower Publication:Chap. 9 in Boardroom Realities: Building Leaders Across Your Board, edited by Jay A. Conger, 253-275. Jossey-Bass, 2009 Book link:... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

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Leadership Transitions | Baker Library | Bloomberg Center | Harvard Business School

William Street Fund. Lehmans from subsequent generations also served as partners. The death of Robert Lehman in 1969, however, left a void in the company, as he was the last family member to lead the firm. "Ready for the New Era in... View Details

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Dillon House | About

investment bank. Dillon joined the Wall Street bond brokerage firm William A. Read & Company in 1912. Following William Read’s death in 1916, Dillon bought a majority interest... View Details

June 2007 (Revised March 2008)
Case

Zoots - Financing Growth (A)

By: Michael J. Roberts, William A. Sahlman and Todd Krasnow

Traces the genesis and founding of Zoots, the largest chain of dry cleaning establishments in the U.S. Founded by some of the founders of the very successful Staples chain, the company raises a very large amount of capital without fully proving its business model, and... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Decision Choices and Conditions; Venture Capital; Financial Strategy; Investment Return; Growth and Development Strategy; Valuation; United States