Publications

Find at Harvard

August 2013 (Revised October 2013)
Case

MedImmune Ventures

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and David Lane

Ron Laufer is the new Senior Managing Director of MedImmune Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of AstraZeneca, a leading pharmaceuticals firm. Laufer has to decide whether to pursue a high-potential, but very risky, early-stage investment. The decision Laufer... View Details

Keywords: MedImmune; MedImmune Ventures; AstraZeneca; NeuProtect; Corporate Venturing; Biotechnology; Venture Investing; Venture Capital; Health Care and Treatment; Pharmaceutical Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States; Australia; Europe; London

March 2001 (Revised February 2005)
Case

Venture Capital Vignettes

By: G. Felda Hardymon

Presents three fictionalized but realistic situations in which a venture capitalist may find himself. One situation requires crisis intervention to quell a dispute between a vice president of sales and a CEO; another poses the problem of working out the composition of... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Crisis Management; Governing and Advisory Boards; Management Teams; Executive Compensation; Situation or Environment; Employee Relationship Management; Problems and Challenges; Financial Services Industry

2000
Other Unpublished Work

Career Concerns and Staged Investment: Evidence from the Venture Capital Industry

By: Malcolm Baker

I develop a model in which career concerns lead to inefficient reinvestment decisions. Managers have incentives to inflate interim returns by continuing bad projects and delaying write-offs. In the venture capital industry, the syndication of follow-on investments can... View Details

Keywords: Performance Efficiency; Valuation; Venture Capital; Investment; Decisions; Motivation and Incentives; Quality

Read Now

February 2014
Background Note

Raising Startup Capital

By: Jeffrey Bussgang

Entrepreneurs typically focus their full energies on business-building. But raising capital is a core part of building a valuable business. Developing expertise in raising capital is more than a necessary evil, it is a competitive weapon. Master it and you will be in a... View Details

November 2022
Course Overview Note

Launching Technology Ventures (LTV)

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang

Keywords: Technology; Venture Capital

September 2011 (Revised August 2012)
Background Note

The Venture Capital Problem Set

By: William Sahlman, Evan W. Richardson and James McQuade

This note consists of three valuation/analysis exercises often found in venture capital financing deals. View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Financing and Loans; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Negotiation Deal; Valuation

17 Oct 2019
News

Venturing Away from Venture Capital

Illustration by Peter Arkle Illustration by Peter Arkle Sandra Oh Lin (MBA 2003) has raised enough venture capital for now, thank you very much. Lin is the founder and CEO of KiwiCo, which designs and... View Details

Keywords: Alexander Gelfand

05 Nov 2001
Research & Ideas

Venture Capital Goes Boom—or Bust?

Ninety percent of new entrepreneurial businesses that don't attract venture capital fail within three years. A software engineer at the government contractor EG&G, Don Brooks had been working on computer... View Details

Keywords: by Paul A. Gompers & Josh Lerner

May 2023
Technical Note

Venture Capital at a Crossroads

By: Jo Tango and Alys Ferragamo

Venture capital is a cyclical, ever-changing industry, as seen in recent years. The late 2010s and early 2020s witnessed record amounts of capital flowing into the sector, high valuations, and new types of investors entering the market. Innovations in the seed stage,... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital

October 2005
Game

Venture Capital Game

By: G. Felda Hardymon and Ann Leamon

Keywords: Venture Capital

2004
Book

Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital

By: Amar Bhidé

Academics and practitioners readily admit the importance of entrepreneurs for the wealth of nations. However, the relationship between the economic and social environment, entrepreneurship and value creation is not yet well understood. Moreover, at the micro-level, the... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneur; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Corporate Finance

July 2001
Background Note

Ethics in Venture Capital

By: Ashish Nanda

Discusses potential conflicts of interest that venture capitalists face in dealing with entrepreneurs. Critiques arguments that such conflicts are easily managed and unproblematic. Suggests four ways to address potential conflicts. View Details

Keywords: Conflict of Interests; Venture Capital; Ethics

February 2006 (Revised July 2007)
Case

Corporate Venture Capital at Eli Lilly

By: Richard G. Hamermesh, Ron Laufer and David Lane

Reviews the role of corporate venture capital and its history at Eli Lilly. Also presents a challenging venture investment opportunity. View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Investment; Pharmaceutical Industry

23 Nov 1999
Research & Ideas

The Future of the Venture Capital Cycle

it appears as if there is somewhat of a "virtuous circle," where the growth in the activity of U.S. venture capital industry has enhanced the conditions that drive... View Details

Keywords: by Paul A. Gompers & Josh Lerner; Financial Services

December 2010
Background Note

Risk and Reward in Venture Capital

By: William A. Sahlman

This note describes the payoff structure of investment in individual venture capital–backed companies and in venture capital portfolios. Venture Capital investments are characterized by high failure rate (0ver 50%) and a small number of given successes (greater than... View Details

Keywords: Capital Markets; Venture Capital; Investment Return; Investment Portfolio; Analytics and Data Science; Failure; Performance; Information Technology