Publications

2001
Casebook

Entrepreneurial Finance: A Casebook

By: Paul A. Gompers and William Sahlman

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Finance

September 1994 (Revised May 2010)
Case

The protagonists must decide whether to invest in an auto emissions testing company as the first investment in the leveraged buyout fund they recently formed. Issues of how to raise the needed equity capital and how to structure the acquisition are emphasized. View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Leveraged Buyouts; Environmental Sustainability; Investment; Service Industry; Auto Industry

October 2011
Case

CSN Stores

By: William A. Sahlman and Neil Tolaney

In March 2011, CSN Stores is a collection of nearly 200 Internet retail websites, including Cookware.com, Strollers.com, and Luggage.com. Co-founders Niraj Shah and Steve Conine were considering making a major investment to build brand equity at the corporate level. View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Distribution Channels; Investment; Brands and Branding; Equity; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Information Technology Industry; Retail Industry

November 2010
Case

Bling Nation

By: William A. Sahlman and Liz Kind

Bling Nation, a Palo Alto, CA startup, was founded in 2007 as a mobile payment service provider that bypassed industry participants such as Visa and MasterCard. Bling Nation partnered with local community banks and merchants in small towns. The banks provided their... View Details

Keywords: Culture

September 2009
Case

ZINK Imaging: 'Zero Ink™'

By: William A. Sahlman and Sarah Flaherty

"ZINK Imaging" describes the issues confronting CEO Wendy Caswell as she uses a partnership model to commercialize ZINK's disruptive printing technology platform, ZINK Paper. The case focuses on the frameworks ZINK has used to decide which markets to target and which... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Capital; Disruptive Innovation; Technological Innovation; Marketing Strategy; Partners and Partnerships; Horizontal Integration; Technology Industry

November 2005 (Revised July 2009)
Case

Cutter & Buck (A)

By: William A. Sahlman and Victoria Winston

Only three short months into her new position as CEO of publicly traded golf apparel manufacturer Cutter & Buck, Fran Conley discovers accounting irregularities that call into question the reliability of this company's financial statements. Working closely with her... View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Crime and Corruption; Corporate Disclosure; Governing and Advisory Boards; Lawsuits and Litigation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Going Public

November 2005 (Revised July 2006)
Supplement

Cutter & Buck (C)

By: William A. Sahlman and Victoria Winston

Keywords: Apparel and Accessories Industry

September 2004 (Revised October 2005)
Case

Mt. Auburn Partners Search Fund

By: William A. Sahlman and Dan Heath

Provides background on search funds and follows two partners as they try to raise financing for a search fund. View Details

Keywords: Search Funds; Financing and Loans; Financial Condition

October 2002 (Revised June 2006)
Case

KnowledgeNet (A)

By: William A. Sahlman and Elizabeth Kind

Describes the internal reporting package for a rapidly growing company in the e-learning industry. Management must analyze the data in the package and decide what actions to take. They must also decide what to communicate to the board of directors. Contains a... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Growth Management; Governing and Advisory Boards; Performance Improvement; Performance Evaluation; Education Industry

October 1998
Case

Conduit Communications

By: William A. Sahlman and Jon Biotti

Keywords: Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; United Kingdom

September 1997 (Revised March 2000)
Case

Circles

By: William A. Sahlman and Jon Biotti

Janet Kraus and Kathy Sherbrooke started a resource and referral company specializing in helping busy people get things done. Issues include financing and product and marketing strategy. View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Resource Allocation; Financing and Loans; Business Startups; Service Industry; United States

November 1995
Case

InterZine Productions, Inc.

By: William A. Sahlman and Jason Green

Brian Henley founded InterZine Productions to develop interactive multimedia content for America Online (AOL) and the Internet. With funding and support from AOL's Greenhouse program, Henley has launched Golf, a unique interactive golf service. While he has operated on... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Capital; Financing and Loans; Internet and the Web; Management Teams; Innovation and Invention; Media and Broadcasting Industry

19 Dec 2014
News

Atlanta Alumni Connect Around a 'Vision' for the New HBS

the region, as well as with HBS faculty members and administrators. The evening also featured remarks by Dean Nitin Nohria, Professor William A. Sahlman, Leo F. Mullin (MBA... View Details

Web

Harvard Business School

Building on the Legacy Thought Leadership Andrew F. Brimmer James I. Cash Jr. Linda A. Hill David A. Thomas HBS Faculty Members HBS Doctoral Students Alumni Profiles Research Links Essay on HBS Thought... View Details

01 Dec 2006
News

HBS Honors Four Alumni

ALUMNI ACHIEVERS: Cohen, Yeo, Moore, and Donaldson at a reception in the DeanÃ¢â¬â¢s Garden. PHOTO BY STUART CAHILL To the four HBS graduates receiving this year’s Alumni Achievement Award, the School’s highest honor, HBS professor Bill... View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

September 2016 (Revised April 2018)
Case

Western Technology Investment

By: Ramana Nanda, William A. Sahlman and Nicole Keller

Based in Portola Valley, California, Western Technology Investment (WTI) specialized in a hybrid form of debt and equity financing for early-stage companies. Like traditional venture capital and private equity firms, WTI raised funds from institutional investors and... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Finance; Equity; Finance; Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans; California