Publications

January 2003 (Revised November 2005)
Case

Endeavor-Determining A Growth Strategy

By: William A. Sahlman and Michael J. Roberts

Describes the progress of a nonprofit organization, Endeavor, focused on nurturing entrepreneurship in emerging markets. At the time of the case, it has successfully expanded to five Latin American countries and is contemplating the next phase in its growth.... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Nonprofit Organizations; Development Economics; Entrepreneurship; Emerging Markets; Policy; Growth and Development Strategy

February 1996
Exercise

Free Cash Flow Valuation Problem Set

By: William A. Sahlman and Andrew S. Janower

Free cash flow valuation problems: 1) build a simple pro forma, 2) value a public company's stock, and 3) evaluate a proposed LBO. View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Cash Flow; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Valuation

October 1995 (Revised July 2009)
Case

Beechwood Spouts (A)

By: William A. Sahlman and Andrew S. Janower

Charles Barker must decide whether to become an outside investor in a private round of financing for an early stage, high-growth-potential venture producing plastic pouring spouts for orange juice cartons. Barker must evaluate the opportunity, content, and deal to... View Details

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

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

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

23 Aug 2016
First Look

August 23, 2016

2016 New York: Palgrave Macmillan Experiences in Liberal Arts and Science Education from America, Europe, and Asia: A Dialogue Across Continents By: Kirby, William C., and Marijk C. van der Wende, eds. Abstract—This book highlights the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

10 May 2011
First Look

First Look: May 10

PublicationsNonsimultaneous Chains and Dominos in Kidney Paired Donation—Revisited Authors:Itai Ashlagi, Duncan S. Gilchrist, Alvin E. Roth, and Michael A. Rees Publication:American Journal of Transplantation 11, no. 5 (May 2011)... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

24 Apr 2012
First Look

First Look: April 24

PublicationsBarriers to Household Risk Management: Evidence from India Authors:Shawn A. Cole, Xavier Giné, Jeremy Tobacman, Petia Topalova, Robert M. Townsend, and James Vickery Publication:American Economic Journal: Applied Economics... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

March 2015
Case

BOLT: Seed Venture Capital Firm

By: William A. Sahlman and Robert F. White

BOLT is a different kind of seed venture capital firm built to serve the needs of early-stage startups at the intersection of hardware and software.

In the past decade, the cost of entrepreneurial experimentation has dropped dramatically, particularly in web... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Finance; Accelerator; Entrepreneurship; Finance; Venture Capital; Applications and Software; Information Infrastructure; Strategy

November 2010 (Revised April 2011)
Case

WiTricity: Electricity cuts the cord

By: William A. Sahlman and Evan Wade Richardson

Eric Giler, WiTricity CEO, must decide how to grow a company based around an untested but potentially ground-breaking technology for wireless electricity transmission. View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Technological Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Wireless Technology; Electronics Industry

November 2003
Case

Procter & Gamble 2000 (A): The SpinBrush and Innovation at P&G

By: William A. Sahlman and Ryland Matthew Willis

Describes a set of decisions confronting some managers in the oral care division of Procter & Gamble. They must decide whether to buy a company that has developed an inexpensive, battery-operated toothbrush. The company's product has done well in one market, but... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Innovation and Management; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Mergers and Acquisitions; Product Launch; Corporate Finance; Retail Industry

November 2000
Case

FireDrop

By: William A. Sahlman and Michael J. Roberts

Describes the evolution of FireDrop, a new venture-backed company that has developed a new platform for e-mail communication. The FireDrop application--called a Zaplet--allows for e-mails to be continually updated so they are current when read (rather than when sent).... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Internet and the Web; Communication Technology; Venture Capital; Technological Innovation; Information Technology Industry

November 1996 (Revised August 1997)
Case

Project "Dial-Tone"

By: William A. Sahlman and Andrew S. Janower

Bob Hellman, a partner in a West Coast middle-market buyout firm, is attempting to simultaneously acquire and merge three disparate firms in the rapidly consolidating telemarketing services industry. Hellman must value the individual companies as well as the combined... View Details

Keywords: Complexity; Private Equity; Integration; Mergers and Acquisitions; Negotiation Deal; Strategic Planning; Investment; Opportunities; Valuation; Service Industry

September 1995
Supplement

At Play Productions (B)

By: William A. Sahlman and Andrew S. Janower