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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(876)
- News (301)
- Research (425)
- Events (1)
- Multimedia (15)
- Faculty Publications (289)
- November 2004 (Revised May 2010)
- Case
RightNow Technologies
By: William A. Sahlman and Dan Heath
The founder and CEO of a CRM software start-up must decide between an attractive acquisition offer and the opportunity to go public. Discusses the growth of the company--including a lengthy discussion of entrepreneurial bootstrapping--as well as an aborted IPO attempt... View Details
Keywords: Business Exit or Shutdown; Applications and Software; Going Public; Management Teams; Finance; Strategy; Value Creation; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Acquisition; Computer Industry
Sahlman, William A., and Dan Heath. "RightNow Technologies." Harvard Business School Case 805-032, November 2004. (Revised May 2010.)
- June 2014
- Case
Stock Options at Celia-Check
By: Brian Hall, Andrew Wasynczuk and Karen Huang
Describes issues facing three young founders of a high-tech start-up, including hiring an experienced CEO and negotiating with a potential VC investor. Focuses on the incentive and compensation aspects of negotiating with job candidates (e.g., what percentage of the... View Details
- January 2002
- Article
Organizational Endowments and the Performance of University Start-ups
By: Scott Shane and Toby E. Stuart
The question of how initial resource endowments—the stocks of resources that entrepreneurs contribute to their new ventures at the time of founding—affect organizational life chances is one of significant interest in organizational ecology, evolutionary... View Details
Keywords: Resource Allocation; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Research; Company History; Initial Public Offering; Venture Capital; Financing and Loans
Shane, Scott, and Toby E. Stuart. "Organizational Endowments and the Performance of University Start-ups." Management Science 48, no. 1 (January 2002): 154–170. (
Winner of Greiff Research Impact Award presented by Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies
.)- July 2013 (Revised August 2017)
- Case
TaKaDu
By: Elie Ofek and Matthew Preble
In December 2012, Amir Peleg, founder and CEO of TaKaDu, reflected on how to position his young firm for the next fiscal year and beyond. The small Israeli startup had developed an innovative software system that used patented algorithms and statistical analysis to... View Details
Keywords: Innovation; Customer Selection; Business Marketing; High-tech Marketing; Enterprise Resource Planning; Water Resources; Water Management; Utilities; Product Positioning; Expansion; Resource Allocation; Applications and Software; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Business Strategy; Innovation and Invention; Growth and Development Strategy; Utilities Industry; Australia; Israel
- September 2002 (Revised May 2003)
- Case
X-IT and Kidde (A)
By: Constance E. Bagley and David Lane
Involves a start-up, X-IT Products LLC, whose founders had designed an innovative, lightweight, and easy-to-use--yet strong--escape ladder. After X-IT had filed a patent application for the ladder in the United States, X-IT was approached by Kidde PLC, one of the... View Details
Keywords: Patents; Negotiation Process; Agreements and Arrangements; Ethics; Lawsuits and Litigation; Business Startups; Consumer Products Industry
Bagley, Constance E., and David Lane. "X-IT and Kidde (A)." Harvard Business School Case 803-041, September 2002. (Revised May 2003.)
- August 1998 (Revised June 2000)
- Case
FairMarket, Inc.: Where Buyers and Sellers Connect
By: Lynda M. Applegate, Jack Wieland and Chad M. M Raube
On February 20, 1997, FairMarket, an Internet-based business-to-business auction site, was launched. CEO, founder Scott Randall, drew on his experience building Internet businesses at NECX Direct, Yahoo, and Internet Shopping Network to build his business. This case,... View Details
Keywords: Business Startups; Debates; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development; Growth Management; Management Style; Product Launch; Multi-Sided Platforms; Problems and Challenges; Information Technology; Information Technology Industry; Web Services Industry
Applegate, Lynda M., Jack Wieland, and Chad M. M Raube. "FairMarket, Inc.: Where Buyers and Sellers Connect." Harvard Business School Case 399-006, August 1998. (Revised June 2000.)
- May–June 2021
- Article
Why Start-ups Fail
If you’re launching a business, the odds are against you: Two-thirds of start-ups never show a positive return. Unnerved by that statistic, a professor of entrepreneurship at Harvard Business School set out to discover why. Based on interviews and surveys with hundreds... View Details
Eisenmann, Thomas R. "Why Start-ups Fail." Harvard Business Review 99, no. 3 (May–June 2021): 76–85.
- 28 Jun 2016
- First Look
June 28, 2016
forthcoming Management Science The First Deal: The Division of Founder Equity in New Ventures By: Hellmann, Thomas F., and Noam Wasserman Abstract—We examine the trade-off between efficiency and equality within the context of... View Details
Keywords: Sean Silverthorne
- 19 Nov 2013
- First Look
First Look: November 19
Case 714-417 A Note on Strategic Interaction No abstract available. Purchase this case: http://hbr.org/search/714417-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 714-421 Taking Dell Private In July 2012, Michael Dell, CEO and founder of Dell,... View Details
Keywords: Sean Silverthorne
- June 2001
- Case
Bang Networks- The First Customer (A)
By: Jay O. Light and Mary N. Caravella
In November 2000, six-month-old start-up Bang Networks is preparing a proposal for its first paid subscription contract. The recent MBA founders of the new San Francisco--based company believe they have a unique new solution for effective delivery of real-time Web... View Details
Keywords: Business Startups; Negotiation Tactics; Internet and the Web; Valuation; Value Creation; Negotiation Preparation; Information Technology Industry; San Francisco
Light, Jay O., and Mary N. Caravella. "Bang Networks- The First Customer (A)." Harvard Business School Case 201-111, June 2001.
- July 2008 (Revised December 2011)
- Case
ghSMART & Co., 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services
By: Noam T. Wasserman and Ashraf Haque
Geoff Smart, founder and CEO of ghSMART & Co., wanted to build ghSMART into the #1 management-assessment firm for CEOs and investors. However, he had just received two pieces of very bad news: the demise of an existing project and the loss of a $1 million engagement he... View Details
Keywords: Business Startups; Decision Choices and Conditions; Entrepreneurship; Corporate Governance; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Structure; Service Industry
Wasserman, Noam T., and Ashraf Haque. "ghSMART & Co., 2006: Pioneering in Professional Services." Harvard Business School Case 809-024, July 2008. (Revised December 2011.)
- Web
Who Are We Looking For? - MBA
they must develop and nurture diverse teams. Leadership takes many forms in many contexts – you do not have to have a formal leadership role to make a difference. We deliberately create a class that includes different kinds of leaders, from the front-line manager to... View Details
- January 2024 (Revised May 2024)
- Case
Runa
By: Paul Gompers and Carla Larangeira
In early 2022, Courtney McColgan, founder and CEO of Runa, a human resources and payroll Software-as-a-Service platform, faced an unexpected tech market downturn. Founded in 2018, Runa catered to small and medium-sized businesses in Mexico, offering an affordable and... View Details
- September 1992
- Case
Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market
First case in a series of six cases that follow the experience of a cable television company as it adjusts to the rapid rise and precipitous decline of the stock market in the late 1980s. In this case Don Jones, the company's founder and owner, sees the rise in public... View Details
Keywords: Behavioral Finance; Financial Markets; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Restructuring; Corporate Strategy; SWOT Analysis; Wealth; Business Cycles; Entertainment and Recreation Industry
Sahlman, William A. "Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market." Harvard Business School Case 293-036, September 1992.
- March 2021 (Revised October 2023)
- Case
Mary Kay Ash: Changing the World
By: Robert Simons and Shirley Sun
This case describes the rise of Mary Kay, the founder of the worldwide cosmetics company. As a young single mother, Mary Kay had to overcome many obstacles to start her business and guide it to success. Today, there are more than 3.5 million Mary Kay beauty consultants... View Details
Keywords: Business Start-ups; Entrepreneurship; Values and Beliefs; Business Startups; Work-Life Balance; Success; Religion; Family Business; Personal Development and Career; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry
Simons, Robert, and Shirley Sun. "Mary Kay Ash: Changing the World." Harvard Business School Case 121-046, March 2021. (Revised October 2023.)
- March 2021
- Supplement
CashDrop (B2)
By: Rembrand Koning, Paul A. Gompers and Sarah Gulick
After the events in CashDrop A, Jarrid Tingle and Henri Pierre-Jacques, the founders of Harlem Capital partners, worried that Ruben Flores-Martinez, CashDrop’s founder, would take another offer while he waited for them to officially make an offer. HCP traditionally... View Details
Keywords: Small Business; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Venture Capital; Online Technology; Technology Industry; Financial Services Industry; New York (city, NY)
Koning, Rembrand, Paul A. Gompers, and Sarah Gulick. "CashDrop (B2)." Harvard Business School Supplement 221-053, March 2021.
- November 1997 (Revised December 1999)
- Case
Cinemex
By: James L. Heskett
The founders of Cinemex, the largest capitalized venture start-up in Mexican history, are debating several issues concerning the operations of their new chain of motion picture theatres in Mexico City. The first concerns whether some seats should be left unsold to... View Details
Keywords: Business Startups; Service Operations; Debates; Venture Capital; Customer Satisfaction; Advertising; Investment; Theater Entertainment; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Mexico City
Heskett, James L. "Cinemex." Harvard Business School Case 898-108, November 1997. (Revised December 1999.)
- September 2005 (Revised August 2008)
- Case
Philip McCrea: Once an Entrepreneur...(A)
By: William W. George and Andrew N. McLean
In the spring of 2005, an exhausted Philip McCrea, president and CEO of software development company VitesseLearning, reflects on the demands of his successful start-up and his desire to be closer to his growing family. Profiles the youth, career, family life,... View Details
Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Personal Development and Career; Family and Family Relationships; Opportunities; Motivation and Incentives
George, William W., and Andrew N. McLean. "Philip McCrea: Once an Entrepreneur...(A)." Harvard Business School Case 406-018, September 2005. (Revised August 2008.)
- Web
Faculty & Advisors | MBA
she advised healthcare & biopharma executives. Sooah has a joint-degree MBA | MPP from Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School, where she worked with startup founders at the HBS Rock Center for... View Details
- February 2003 (Revised October 2003)
- Case
Versity.com
By: Leslie A. Perlow
Versity.com has grown from four college students working out of a dorm to a $125 million venture capital-backed company. The young founders and new professional managers struggle to create a company vision and grapple with the question of whether to acquire another... View Details
Keywords: Business Startups; Growth and Development; Organizational Design; Mission and Purpose; Strategic Planning; Conflict and Resolution; Mergers and Acquisitions; Management Teams; Core Relationships
Perlow, Leslie A. "Versity.com." Harvard Business School Case 403-132, February 2003. (Revised October 2003.)