Publications

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November 2001 (Revised October 2006)
Case

Smartix (A): Dancing with Elephants

By: Donald N. Sull, James K. Sebenius and Noam Wasserman

This case describes issues facing the founder-CEO of a high-tech start-up in Boston, as he negotiates with multiple large potential partners and investors. The negotiations include a potential business partnership with FleetCenter and Madison Square Garden, and a... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Venture Capital; Negotiation; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Power and Influence; Technology Industry; Boston

August 2017
Article

The First Deal: The Division of Founder Equity in New Ventures

By: Thomas F. Hellmann and Noam Wasserman

We examine the trade-off between efficiency and equality within the context of entrepreneurial founding teams. Using a formal theory where founders may have preferences over relative outcomes, we derive predictions about the antecedents and consequences of dividing... View Details

Keywords: Equality and Inequality; Entrepreneurship; Equity

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15 Jan 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, January 15, 2019

transform traditional industries such as banking, real estate, and healthcare. More recently, it has gained attention as a way to finance new ventures, through what is known as an Initial Coin Offering (ICO). Less noticed, though, is ICOs... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

June 2017 (Revised October 2017)
Case

Uber in 2017: One Bumpy Ride

By: Suraj Srinivasan, Jay W. Lorsch and Quinn Pitcher

Uber Technologies Inc., the popular ride-hailing company, entered 2017 having doubled its bookings in 2016 and achieving a valuation of nearly $70 billion, making it the largest venture capital-backed company in the world. Co-founder and CEO Travis Kalanick embodied... View Details

Keywords: Governance; Information Technology; Transportation; Venture Capital; Organizational Culture; Technology Industry; Transportation Industry; United States

22 Apr 2014
First Look

First Look: April 22

marketing pitch made to study participants by our project staff. Publisher's link: http://www.people.hbs.edu/nashraf/aamy_SavingsinTransnationalHouseholds.pdf August 2013 Journal of Finance Incentivizing Calculated Risk-Taking: Evidence... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Research Summary

Overview

By: Andy Wu

How can technology entrepreneurs build competitive advantage from the ground up? Professor Andy Wu conducts scholarly research and develops course materials that document how technology entrepreneurs can (1) organize for innovation to create new market opportunities... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Growth Management; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Technology Platform; Technological Innovation; Information Technology Industry; Retail Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; Video Game Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United States; China; Southeast Asia; South Asia

October 2024
Article

Founder-CEO Compensation and Selection into Venture Capital-Backed Entrepreneurship

By: Michael Ewens, Ramana Nanda and Christopher Stanton

We show theoretically that a critical determinant of the attractiveness of VC-backed entrepreneurship for high-earning potential founders is the expected time to develop a startup’s initial product. This is because founder-CEOs’ cash compensation increases... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Executive Compensation

27 Mar 2012
First Look

First Look: March 27

investors, and experienced entrepreneurs. The challenges fall into five broad areas: the need to formalize organizational structure, executive transitions, the need for management systems/processes, evolution of the board of director's role, and preservation of an... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

October 1997 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Telewizja Wisla

Claire Hurley and her business partner have obtained a supra-regional TV license for Poland. Their company has received initial funding from Polish investors and now faces the difficult challenge of raising an additional $7 million to fund the start of operations of a... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Poland

August 1998 (Revised October 2002)
Case

Harbus Foundation, The

By: James E. Austin and Linda Carrigan

Describes the challenges faced by a group of HBS students as they create a foundation. Given surplus funds generated by the student-run newspaper, The Harbus leadership decides to find a meaningful use for the excess cash. Profiles both the entrepreneurial process used... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Decision Choices and Conditions; Asset Management; Financial Institutions; Investment Portfolio; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Problems and Challenges; Social Enterprise; Valuation; Financial Services Industry

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25 Mar 2014
First Look

First Look: March 25

link: http://www.palgrave.com/Products/TitlePrint.aspx?PID=362801 August 2013 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Investors Prefer Entrepreneurial Ventures Pitched by Attractive Men By: Brooks, Alison Wood, Laura Huang, Sarah... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

02 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

10 Trends to Watch in 2024

The lightning-fast ascent of generative AI isn’t the only sea change on the horizon for businesses in the new year. The global economy is in flux as war, climate change, trade issues, and infrastructure problems demand attention. Many companies continue to struggle to... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

February 2000 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Butler Capital Partners and Autodistribution: Putting Private Equity to Work in France

Describes a proposed buyout transaction of Autodistribution, an entrepreneurial firm that is the leading car-parts distributor in France. The deal became feasible because of a failed takeover battle for Autodistribution's parent company. Private equity investor Butler... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Leveraged Buyouts; Valuation; Executive Compensation; Entrepreneurship; Distribution Industry; Auto Industry; France

2023
Working Paper

Founder-CEO Compensation and Selection into Venture Capital-Backed Entrepreneurship

By: Michael Ewens, Ramana Nanda and Christopher Stanton

We show theoretically that a critical determinant of the attractiveness of VC-backed entrepreneurship for high-earning potential founders is the expected time to develop a startup’s initial product. This is because founder-CEOs’ cash compensation increases... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Executive Compensation

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January 2012
Case

Taikang Insurance: Standing Out In China's Crowded Insurance Market

By: William C. Kirby and Tracy Yuen Manty

As a joint-stock insurance company in China, with both state-owned enterprises and foreign firms as investors, Taikang Insurance was becoming a force in the industry. It not only competed with well-entrenched state-owned rivals, but it was also seen as an... View Details

Keywords: Insurance; Industry Structures; Insurance Industry; China

October 2004
Article

FDI and Economic Growth: The Role of Local Financial Markets

By: Laura Alfaro, Areendam Chanda, Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan and Selin Sayek

The purpose of this paper is to examine the various links among foreign direct investment, financial markets and growth. We model an economy with a continuum of agents indexed by their level of ability. Agents have two choices: they can work for the foreign company in... View Details

Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment; Financial Markets; Economic Growth; Cost; Wealth; Investment Return; Knowledge

August 1987 (Revised June 1989)
Background Note

Note on Financial Contracting: ""Deals""

By: William A. Sahlman

Describes the issues involved in designing and evaluating financial contracts between users and suppliers of capital and between companies and employees. A simple conceptual framework is introduced and some critical issues addressed: 1) How is cash allocated? 2) How is... View Details

Keywords: Contracts; Framework; Problems and Challenges; Corporate Finance

March 2001 (Revised April 2001)
Case

MiCRUS: Activity-Based Management for Business Turnaround

By: Robert S. Kaplan, Jonathan B. Schiff and Stanley Abraham

MiCRUS is a new company, spun off from IBM as a joint venture between IBM and Cirrus Logic to produce semiconductor wafers at world-class costs for its two parent companies. The senior management team needs to overcome the bureaucratic, internally focused culture that... View Details

Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management; Cost Management; Semiconductor Industry