Publications

01 Jun 2012
News

Jump-Start

student teams, says Rock Center executive director Mike Roberts. “These are many of the same firms that regularly assist in our Business Plan Competition. They just want to see HBS students succeed.” Accel Partners Bain Capital Charles... View Details

Keywords: contests; Finance

May 1983 (Revised May 2015)
Case

The Carlton Polish Company

By: William A. Sahlman

Students are asked to determine the fair market value of Carlton Polish Co. and decide if Mr. Carlton should buy out his partner's half for $25 million. Carlton's alternative is to sell his half for $25 million. Students must also evaluate a financing plan. View Details

Keywords: Value; Financing and Loans; Partners and Partnerships; Leveraged Buyouts; Fair Value Accounting

June 2014
Teaching Note

Google Glass

By: Thomas Eisenmann

In early 2014, business development executives at Google were formulating a distribution strategy for Glass, a wearable computer that projected information on a display viewable with an upward glance. Options, which were not mutually exclusive, included 1) continuing... View Details

Keywords: Partners and Partnerships; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Distribution Channels; Technology Adoption; Product Marketing; Computer Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; United States

January 2009 (Revised May 2010)
Case

Altoona State Investment Board: December 2008

By: Josh Lerner

Rod Calhoun, the head of the Altoona State Investment Board's private equity investment program, considered the communication he had just received. It was from Permira, the leading European buyout fund, and concerned its fourth fund, to which Altoona had made a £ 100... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Financial Management; Financial Strategy; Investment Funds; Partners and Partnerships

December 2016
Case

SEAS in 2016

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Kerry Herman

The case explores opportunities and challenges facing the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences as it 1) grapples with rapid undergraduate enrollment growth and its smaller scale relative to other top engineering schools and 2) prepares to move two-thirds... View Details

Keywords: Business Education; Engineering; Strategy; Partners and Partnerships; Change Management; Education Industry; United States

October 2004 (Revised July 2006)
Background Note

Ownership Structure in Professional Service Firms: Partnership versus Public Corporation

By: Ashish Nanda

This case reviews the relative merits of partnership and public ownership structures in professional services firms. It also evaluates the various rationales for converting partnership professional services firms to publicly owned firms. Finally, the case highlights... View Details

Keywords: Private Ownership; Transition; Partners and Partnerships; Public Ownership; Service Industry

01 Dec 2002
News

Porter Course Goes Abroad

Stockholm School of Economics (SSE) located in Riga, Latvia. For 2003, the list of potential partner universities has expanded to include more than fifteen schools in Asia, Europe, Latin America, and Africa. “There is a tremendous need... View Details

24 Apr 2014
News

A lifetime investment in the entrepreneurial spirit

The name William K. Bowes Jr. (MBA 1952) is synonymous with the development of venture capital in America and the rise of Silicon Valley. As a founder of U.S. Venture Partners (USVP) in 1981, the late HBS alum launched a long list of... View Details

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

April 2014 (Revised June 2014)
Case

Google Glass

By: Thomas Eisenmann, Lauren Barley and Liz Kind

In early 2014, business development executives at Google were formulating a distribution strategy for Glass, a wearable computer that projected information on a display viewable with an upward glance. Options, which were not mutually exclusive, included 1) continuing... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Technological Innovation; Distribution Channels; Strategy; Partners and Partnerships; Technology Adoption

April 2001
Teaching Note

Microsoft Carpoint

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Steven Silverman and William A. Sahlman

Teaching Note for (9-898-280). For book only - not listed on case. View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Internet and the Web; Service Delivery; Partners and Partnerships; Change; Customers; Web Services Industry

February 2000 (Revised March 2004)
Case

Venture Law Group (A)

By: Thomas J. DeLong, Ashish Nanda and Scott D Landry

Craig Johnson, Venture Law Group's (VLG) chairman, founded VLG in 1993 with a goal of "zero voluntary turnover." In late 1998, Johnson faces the departure of three important partners, prompting himself to ask what VLG can do in the midst of an "economic hurricane" that... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Customer Relationship Management; Partners and Partnerships; Retention; Legal Services Industry

01 Mar 2019
News

The One That Got Away

spend more time thinking about what a venture could become if things go well as opposed to worrying too much about what could go wrong. Jeff Bussgang (MBA 1995) Flybridge Capital Partners HBS Senior Lecturer Missed Meal Ticket When I was... View Details

04 Mar 2019
News

The Anti-Shark Tank

Videolicious (a platform for making high-end video) respectively. Despite their success, the pair couldn’t help wondering what it was like to be a female entrepreneur without HBS connections. In 2016 they formed Able Partners to invest in... View Details

01 Jan 2013
News

Five Receive 2013 HBS Alumni Achievement Award

everything they do. As such, they represent the best in our alumni body. Exemplary role models, they inspire all who aspire to have an impact on both business and society. The 2013 award recipients are: Joanna M. Jacobson, MBA 1987 Cofounder and Managing Partner,... View Details

Keywords: awards; Corporate, Subsidiary, and Regional Managing Offices; Management; Finance; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services; Retail Trade

August 2022 (Revised November 2022)
Supplement

Altos Ventures (B)

By: Jo Tango and Alys Ferragamo

In December 2021, Han Kim, Anthony Lee, and Ho Nam reflected on how far they had come since 2012. This B case provides an update on Altos Ventures’ decision-making and performance since the events presented in the A case. View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Venture Capital; Investment Portfolio; Partners and Partnerships