Publications

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

Find at Harvard

April 2001
Teaching Note

iQVC (A) and (B) TN

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Goutam Challagalla and William A. Sahlman

April 2001
Teaching Note

first direct (A) TN

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Michelle Toth and William A. Sahlman

Teaching Note for (9-897-079). For book only - not listed on case. View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Information Technology; Customer Satisfaction; Business Model; Banking Industry; United Kingdom

April 2001 (Revised November 2009)
Teaching Note

(TN) Amazon.com (A), (B), (C), and (D)

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Dickson Louie and William A. Sahlman

Teaching Note for (9-897-128), (9-898-084), (9-901-021), and (9-901-022). For book only. View Details

Keywords: Retail Industry; Web Services Industry

February 2001
Case

BarnesandNoble.com (C)

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Dickson Louie and William A. Sahlman

At the end of 1999, Steve Riggio, the vice chairman and acting CEO of barnesandnoble.com, wonders what his company should do next against Amazon.com, the online retailer who is the leading online book seller in the United States. While barnesandnoble.com has been... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Internet and the Web; Diversification; Brands and Branding; Retail Industry

August 2007 (Revised February 2008)
Case

Pinnacle Ventures

By: Michael J. Roberts, William A. Sahlman and Elizabeth Kind

Describes a prospective "venture debt" loan to a new venture from the perspective of Patrick Lee, a principal at Pinnacle Ventures. Forces students to grapple with the nature of financial risk in the start-up firm and assess the prospective risks and returns to a... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Venture Capital; Investment Return; Business Startups; Financial Services Industry

April 2001
Teaching Note

Microsoft Carpoint

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Steven Silverman and William A. Sahlman

Teaching Note for (9-898-280). For book only - not listed on case. View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Internet and the Web; Service Delivery; Partners and Partnerships; Change; Customers; Web Services Industry

September 2017 (Revised October 2017)
Case

Discover Capital: Closing an Acquisition

By: Robert F. White, William A. Sahlman and Ramana Nanda

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Financing; Finance; Entrepreneurship; United States

June 2008 (Revised July 2008)
Case

How Serial Entrepreneurs Build and Manage a Board of Directors in a Venture-Backed Start Up

By: Michael J. Roberts, William A. Sahlman and Sasha Novakovich

This case includes structured interviews with four serial entrepreneurs about the way in which they built and used their boards in each of their companies and what they have learned through that process. These entrepreneurs were asked similar questions, such as "How do... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards

April 2001
Teaching Note

Streamline (A) and (B) TN

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Rafi Mohammed and William A. Sahlman

April 2001
Teaching Note

PlanetAll TN

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Steven Silverman and William A. Sahlman

Teaching Note for (9-898-105). For book only. View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Business Model; Web Services Industry

February 2001
Case

BarnesandNoble.com (B)

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Dickson Louie and William A. Sahlman

At the end of 1998, Jonathan Bulkeley, the newly-named CEO of barnesandnoble.com, is faced with a challenge. As the second leading online bookseller behind Amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com must build its market share. With Forrester Research predicting that the online... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Marketing Strategy; Publishing Industry