Publications

17 Jul 2023
Research & Ideas

Money Isn’t Everything: The Dos and Don’ts of Motivating Employees

offers four research-backed strategies leaders should put into place now to create incentive programs that work, and three important pitfalls to avoid. Do: Offer equity ‘with... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

December 2009 (Revised July 2013)
Case

Iris Running Crane: December 2009

By: Matthew Rhodes-Kropf, Josh Lerner and Ann Leamon

Iris Running Crane, an MBA candidate, must choose among three different job offers in private equity. One is with a top-tier megafund buyout operation; the second with a geographically focused mid-market fund; and the third with a one-time top-tier fund that is trying... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Private Equity; Compensation and Benefits; Job Offer; Personal Development and Career; Financial Services Industry

January 2019
Case

First Aid Beauty

By: Karen Mills and Annie Dang

In 2008, Lilli Gordon, an experienced financial and skincare entrepreneur, founded First Aid Beauty (FAB). She had discovered a white space in the prestige beauty market: high-end skin solutions that were suitable for sensitive skin. After initial success through... View Details

Keywords: Prestige Beauty; Skincare; Preferred Shares; Common Stock; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Decision Choices and Conditions; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry

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

08 Jan 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, January 8, 2019

Business School Case 218-078 Jaguar Capital S.A.S., Take the Money and Run? In January 2014, Tomas Uribe and Rodrigo Sanchez-Rios of Jaguar Capital S.A.S. (Jaguar or Jaguar Capital), were considering an offer from White Stone, the world’s... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

22 Feb 2018
Blog Post

Five Steps to Jump Start Your MBA Recruiting at HBS

Your Measure for Success – What is your idea of a successful recruiting season? Would you like to hire one great summer intern? Do you want to build a pipeline of talent for full-time roles? For most companies, a successful season is... View Details

Keywords: All Industries

September 2024 (Revised December 2024)
Case

Sona Comstar and Blackstone: Unlocking Value Through Business Transformation

By: Ranjay Gulati and Kanika Jain

Private equity firm Blackstone’s majority investment in automotive systems manufacturer Sona Comstar had culminated in the largest IPO in the Indian auto components industry in 2021, with stellar returns for all involved. This EV supplier was the result of a 2019... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Decision Making; Engineering; Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Private Equity; Mergers and Acquisitions; Initial Public Offering; Auto Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Technology Industry; Asia; Southeast Asia

06 Nov 2007
First Look

First Look: November 6, 2007

Purchase this case: http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=908010 Tad O'Malley: December 2004 Harvard Business School Case 806-024 Tad O'Malley, a second-year student at Harvard Business School, must choose among three View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

18 Mar 2014
First Look

First Look: March 18

conclude that, on average, firms' self-reported anticorruption efforts signal real efforts to combat corruption and are not merely cheap talk. Download working paper: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2229039 The First Deal: The Division of Founder View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

December 2006 (Revised October 2016)
Case

eClinicalWorks: The Paths to Growth

By: Robert F. Higgins and Mark Rennella

In January 2006, eClinicalWorks (eCW) had an acquisition opportunity that could fundamentally change the way they had done business since the inception of the company in 1999. eClinicalWorks was a privately run business in the healthcare information technology field... View Details

Keywords: Young Companies; Strategic Revelation; Strategy And Execution; Strategy Development; Strategy And Leadership; Financing Strategy; Financing Risk; Financing; Expansion; Business Growth and Maturation; Organizational Culture; Financing and Loans; Customer Focus and Relationships; Acquisition; Growth and Development Strategy; Information Technology Industry; Health Industry; Massachusetts

September 2021 (Revised December 2023)
Case

On the Bubble: Startup Bootstrapping

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Tom Quinn and Annelena Lobb

Bubble was a software company in the low-code/no-code market, making tools that allowed users without traditional programming backgrounds or technical skills to build software. The case covers cofounder Joshua Haas’s engineering background, as he experienced a high... View Details

Career Coach

Ildi Nielsen

Ildi (Dartmouth ’94) offers 20 years of experience as a Career Coach and Executive Search Consultant for MBA and post-MBA professionals. She worked as a Career Coach at Boston Consulting Group where she helped consultants and alumni... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Private Equity; Private Equity; Private Equity; Private Equity; Private Equity; Private Equity; Private Equity; Private Equity; Private Equity; Private Equity; Private Equity; Private Equity; Private Equity

October 2020 (Revised July 2023)
Case

UCK Partners: Gong Cha

By: Victoria Ivashina and Sangyun Lee

In the Spring of 2017, Soomin Kim, Founding Partner of UCK Partners, and his team were debating the potential exit of UCK Partner’s investment in Gong Cha Korea, the sole local franchisor of the premium milk tea brand that they proprietarily sourced three years ago.... View Details

Keywords: Exit; Strategic Decision Making; Private Equity; Investment; Strategy; Investment Return; Decision Making; Bids and Bidding

08 Jul 2008
First Look

First Look: July 8, 2008

Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More, Chris Anderson, editor of Wired magazine, argues that the sudden availability of niche offerings more closely tailored to their tastes will lure consumers away from... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

24 May 2011
First Look

First Look: May 24

local accounting standards and ii) how IFRS adoption could change HOLT's global valuation framework. The case offers an interesting setting to examine how harmonizing accounting standards can affect global View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

14 Jul 2023
Blog Post

Building a Culture of Awareness and Accountability in your Organization

Management, today Manso-Brown is a speaker, educator, and activist artist. Her art and educational workshops challenge and encourage people to have meaningful conversations about social justice. She has partnered with many offices throughout Harvard Business School and... View Details

Keywords: All Industries

August 2013 (Revised December 2014)
Case

Taking Dell Private

By: David J. Collis, David B. Yoffie and Matthew Shaffer

In July 2012, Michael Dell, CEO and founder of Dell, Inc., met with a representative of Silver Lake Partners to explore taking his company private. The company, which he had founded in his dorm room as a college freshman and which had made him the youngest Fortune 500... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Going Private; The PC Market; Market For Corporate Control; Corporate Strategy; Leveraged Buyouts; Change Management; Private Equity; Market Entry and Exit; Private Ownership; Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Internet and the Web; Computer Industry; Technology Industry; United States