Publications

September 2011 (Revised July 2012)
Case

Khosla Ventures: Biofuels Gain Liquidity

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III, William A. Sahlman, Alison Berkley Wagonfeld and Evan Richardson

Samir Kaul, a Partner at Khosla Ventures, looked out his office window. It was late June, 2011, and like almost every day in Menlo Park, the sun was shining. Kaul was reflecting on what had been a very positive 10 months in the venture capital business. Over that span,... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Financial Strategy; Business or Company Management; Partners and Partnerships; Product Development; Investment Portfolio; Financial Services Industry

03 Mar 2008
First Look

First Look: March 4, 2008

and largely unregulated securities market was William Duer, who ultimately became a major player on the Street. As it turned out, however, Duer's financial dealings proved unsustainable, and his financial collapse helped to bring the... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

March 2015
Case

West Coast Chill

By: William A. Sahlman, Robert F. White and Stephanie Puzio

The fall of 2010 marked the 20th year that Mitchell Joseph, a fourth generation beverage executive, serial entrepreneur, and the founder of the Joseph Company (the "Company"), had been working on developing the technology for a self-chilling can. Mitchell was at an... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Finance; Entrepreneurship; Finance; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

01 Oct 1997
News

Class of 1997 Graduates with Distinction

impressive debut with the participation of 160 students, 35 faculty, and numerous alumni and friends of the School. At the award ceremony, contest faculty advisor Professor William A. View Details

Web

2024 Reunion Presentations - Alumni

to World Problems Professor Emeritus William Sahlman (MBA 1975) No additional materials available + More Info – Less Info The world has a seemingly infinite supply of problems. Fortunately, entrepreneurs... View Details

14 Nov 2015
News

A Message to HBS Alumni in France

find alumni who live or work in the region. (Login required.) During tragic times, we hope that the HBS community can be one of comfort, connection, and assistance. Our thoughts and best wishes are with you all. Sincerely, William View Details

13 Sep 2011
First Look

First Look: September 13

PublicationsHigher Ambition: How Great Leaders Create Economic and Social Value Authors:Michael Beer, Russel A. Eisenstat, Nathaniel Foote, Tobias Fredberg, and Flemming Norrgren Publication:Harvard Business Press, 2011 Abstract... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

13 Apr 2010
First Look

First Look: April 13

by deviating frequently and in predictable ways from the recommendations offered by a centralized capacity planning model. Finally, we document that these discretionary capacity supply decisions exhibit a... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

01 Mar 2014
News

Generation Next

the family business feel. Professor William C. Kirby and Tracy Yuen Manty The Wen Group Trying to find resolution in a Hong Kong–based family conglomerate that suffers from nepotism and governance issues. Senior Lecturer John View Details

Keywords: Mark Bergen; Godrej Group; Management

19 Jul 2011
First Look

First Look: July 19

claims about the benefits of broader operational scope. The performance benefits of focus are typically attributed to reduced complexity, lower uncertainty, and the development of specialized expertise, while the benefits of greater breadth are linked to the economies... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

November 2016 (Revised May 2017)
Case

Hyperloop One

By: William A. Sahlman, Ramana Nanda, Robert White, Allison Ciechanover and Jeff Huizinga

This case explores the attempt of Shervin Pishevar, a prominent Silicon Valley investor, to shepherd hyperloop, a futuristic pod-in-tube transportation technology, from concept to transformative reality via Hyperloop One and Sherpa Capital, both companies he... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Finance; Startup; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Finance; Transportation; Product Development; Innovation and Invention; Transportation Industry

01 Dec 2012
News

Kaplan Named Senior Associate Dean

Robert S. Kaplan, a professor of management practice, has been named Senior Associate Dean for External Relations, joining Professor William A. Sahlman in that role. Kaplan... View Details

Keywords: Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Educational Services

01 Jun 2017
News

Alumni Connections

was the grand prize winner in the alumni track for her on-demand jobs platform, Apli. View a video of Makarov's ninety-second pitch. 6 (L to R) Professor William Sahlman (MBA 1975) interviewed founders of... View Details

05 Dec 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, December 5, 2017

that we can thrive. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=53562 forthcoming Customer Needs and Solutions In Pursuit of Enhanced Customer Retention Management: Review, Key Issues, and Future Directions By: Ascarza, Eva, Scott View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

29 Sep 2009
First Look

First Look: September 29

its own right. But it was also crucial for the resumption of European integration in the 1970s. Leadership: The Key to Effective Boards Author:Jay W. Lorsch Publication:Chap. 1 in Boardroom Realities: Building Leaders Across Your Board, edited View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

2011
Article

How Should the Graduate Economics Core be Changed?

By: Vincent Pons, Jose Miguel Abito, Katarina Borovickova, Hays Golden, Jacob Goldin, Matthew A. Masten, Miguel Morin, Alexander Poirier, Israel Romem, Tyler Williams and Chamna Yoon

The authors present suggestions by graduate students from a range of economics departments for improving the first-year core sequence in economics. The students identified a number of elements that should be added to the core: more training in building microeconomic... View Details

Keywords: Design Of Core; Graduate Economics; Higher Education; Economics; Curriculum and Courses