Publications

15 May 2012
First Look

First Look: May 15

interconnected world, leveraging Home Depot's brick-and-mortar success in the new environment, and continuing to build and sustain lasting emotional connections with customers. Purchase this... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

21 Feb 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research: February 21

significant NPE pass-through to end innovators, nor of a positive impact of NPEs on innovation in the industries in which they are most prevalent. Download working paper:... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

February 2010 (Revised February 2021)
Case

The Vitality Group: Paying for Self-Care

By: Regina E. Herzlinger

Vitality is part of a $2 billion start-up South African and U.K. health insurance firm. It has achieved excellent results in rewarding people for promoting their health. It is now contemplating how to enter the U.S. market. View Details

Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Insurance Industry; South Africa; United Kingdom; United States

05 Jun 2012
First Look

First Look: June 5

French General and Harvard Business School professor, Georges Doriot, who established the American Research and Development Corporation (ARD) in 1946. Purchase this case:http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/product/812110-PDF-ENG Bharti Airtel... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

15 May 2019
News

Small Business Lending Soars at Banks; Technology Is A Big Reason Why

22 Dec 2015
News

The curation of insights at incubators

Profile

Abena Nyantekyi-Owusu

again into a project development manager, Abena worked with “clinical teams to bring solutions to life.” It was at this point that the desire for an MBA emerged. Intentions and transitions “I had worked in View Details

14 Aug 2013
News

Student-Loan Load Kills Startup Dreams

18 Aug 2014
News

Delivery Start-Ups Are Back Like It’s 1999

March 2024 (Revised June 2024)
Case

Kashat: Navigating the Uncertainties of the Egyptian Fintech Market

By: Paul A. Gompers and Ahmed Dahawy

Karim Nour, the founder of Kashat, an Egyptian nano-lending fintech company, is contemplating how to manage the growth of his startup. Over the summer of 2022, Kashat's loan disbursements had grown by nearly 40%, fueled by macroeconomic instability in Egypt. However,... View Details

Keywords: Fintech; Business Model; Developing Countries and Economies; Acquisition; Business Exit or Shutdown; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Startups; Financing and Loans; Capital; Financial Services Industry; Banking Industry; Egypt

September 2016 (Revised October 2017)
Case

KaBOOM!: Play at Scale (Abridged)

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Sarah Appleby

A case on scaling social impact for nonprofits. Founded in 1995, KaBOOM! quickly became a nationally recognized nonprofit in building playgrounds with strong corporate partnerships and volunteer-organizing capabilities. Over the years, KaBOOM! developed new programs,... View Details

Keywords: Scaling Social Enterprise; Scaling Social Impact; Nonprofit Scaling; Nonprofit; Nonprofit Organizations; Social Enterprise; Social Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; United States

September 2021 (Revised March 2022)
Case

Katie Couric Media: Landing the First Client

By: N. Louis Shipley and William R. Kerr

In May 2018, celebrated journalist Katie Couric and her husband, John Molner, had recently launched a full-service media firm called Katie Couric Media (KCM). Couric treasured the opportunity to address important social issues like gender equality, environmental... View Details

Keywords: Customer Acquisition; Subscription Model; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Media; Customers; Acquisition; Social Issues; Brands and Branding; Media and Broadcasting Industry

Profile

Nathalie du Preez

For Nathalie du Preez, passion for her country has also been the driving force behind leaving it — at least temporarily. "I love South Africa," she says, "but as a legacy of apartheid, it's very separated from the rest of the world. To make a difference... View Details

13 Apr 2021
Blog Post

2021 48th Annual H. Naylor Fitzhugh Conference Honors Black Women Leaders

“Good morning!” welcomed Lillian Lincoln Lambert (MBA 1969) in her address to the African American Student Union’s (AASU) 48th Annual H. Naylor Fitzhugh Conference on February 27, 2021. The conference was the central day View Details

10 Dec 2013
First Look

First Look: December 10

across the United States: proximity to historical mining deposits is associated with bigger firms and fewer start-ups in the middle of the 20th century. We use mines as an instrument for our entrepreneurship... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

April 2018
Teaching Note

Formlabs: Selling a New 3D Printer

By: Frank Cespedes

Teaching Note for HBS No. 817-001. Formlabs is a venture that manufactures and sells 3D printers used in a variety of industries and applications. As the young company prepares to ship its latest model, the head of Customer Development is tasked with developing a... View Details

October 2024
Article

On Why Women-owned Businesses Take More Time to Secure Microloans

By: Goran Calic, Moren Lévesque and Anton Shevchenko

Examining gender differences in business financing reveals important dimensions on which women- and men-owned businesses differ. Although considerable progress has been made in understanding gender differences in mobilizing resources, the role of time in business... View Details

Keywords: Microfinance; Gender; Financing and Loans; Equality and Inequality; Risk and Uncertainty; Decision Choices and Conditions; Entrepreneurship

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July 2012 (Revised April 2013)
Case

Eric Weston

Facing bankruptcy or keeping the doors open, Eric Weston assesses his continued survival in the retail garden supply business he has owned for seven years. View Details

Keywords: Acquisitions; Bankruptcy; Financing; Turnarounds; Liquidation; Negotiation; Entrepreneurial Management; Crisis Management; Entrepreneurs; Bank Loan; Career Planning; Financial Analysis; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Entrepreneurship; Acquisition; Retail Industry; United States

2021
Case

NiPay's Pricing Conundrum

By: Marco Bertini and Oded Koenigsberg

NiPay is a software provider competing in the Nigerian business-to-business payments market. Founded by Idaku Ibrahim nearly 20 years ago, NiPay sells two products to retailers and other merchants, which enable individual shoppers to transact either online or via a... View Details

Keywords: Payment Systems; B2B; Pricing; Software; Marketing Strategy; Nigeria