Publications

30 Sep 2015
News

When Jonathan Goldstein (MBA 1990) first traveled to Rwanda in 2002 to talk about venture capital with President Paul Kagame’s cabinet, he was surprised to find the cabinet members “weren’t requesting immediate investments or handouts.”... View Details

06 Apr 2016
Research & Ideas

Should Entrepreneurs Pitch Products or Ideas for Products?

In trying to secure financial backing for a new product, independent innovators generally face the question of how much to invest in development before showing it around. Should they create, say, a working prototype (and maybe even generate sales) or pitch the idea for... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Motion Pictures & Video; Entertainment & Recreation; Banking

August 2022 (Revised November 2022)
Supplement

Altos Ventures (B)

By: Jo Tango and Alys Ferragamo

In December 2021, Han Kim, Anthony Lee, and Ho Nam reflected on how far they had come since 2012. This B case provides an update on Altos Ventures’ decision-making and performance since the events presented in the A case. View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Venture Capital; Investment Portfolio; Partners and Partnerships

March 2010 (Revised May 2010)
Case

Disruptive IPOs? WR Hambrecht & Co.

By: Clayton M. Christensen and Tara Donovan

Bill Hambrecht faces a dilemma: should he accept a high profile client for his online Dutch auction IPO? Though it would be viewed as a real coup, what would accepting the business mean to WR Hambrecht? Should he seek other high profile clients like this, or should he... View Details

Keywords: Capital Markets; Initial Public Offering; Disruptive Innovation; Auctions; Online Technology; Financial Services Industry; San Francisco

2022
Presentation

Victor Ray presents at the 2022 Gender and Work Symposium

May 2013
Case

Education in Brazil: Waiting for a Revolution

By: Aldo Musacchio and Alejandra Meraz Velasco

This case describes the situation of the education system in Brazil circa 2012. The case discusses first some of the problems of the Brazilian education system. Then, the case summarizes the findings of a recent study of high performing schools in Brazil and outlines... View Details

Keywords: Quality Of Education; Federalism; Elementary Education; Quality; Human Capital; Education; Education Industry; Brazil; Korean Peninsula

2003
Case

What's the True Cost of Your Capital?

By: Timothy A. Luehrman

Keywords: Cost of Capital

1990
Other Unpublished Work

The High Price of Land and the Low Cost of Capital: Theory and Evidence from Japan

By: David S. Scharfstein, Anil Kashyap and David Weil

Keywords: Cost of Capital; Japan

Having worked on the issues of the hour at the White House and the World Bank, I was keen to step back and understand the evolution and impact of business on society as I embarked on my journey at HBS. The role of companies in shaping and being shaped by economic... View Details

29 Mar 2017
News

Effie Epstein Hired As COO of Ashton Kutcher’s Sound Ventures

February 1999 (Revised June 2010)
Case

Car Wash Partners, Inc.

By: Paul A. Gompers

Examines the investment decision of Cabot Brown and Bill Burgin, two venture capitalists, to finance Car Wash Partners (CWP). CWP intends to purchase automatic car washes around the country. Investment strategy and deal structuring are discussed. View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Financial Strategy; Auto Industry; Service Industry

Forthcoming
Article

Catching Outliers: Committee Voting and the Limits of Consensus When Financing Innovation

By: Andrey Malenko, Ramana Nanda, Matthew Rhodes-Kropf and Savitar Sundaresan

We document that investment committees of major VCs use a voting rule where one partner `championing' an early-stage investment is sufficient to invest. Their stated reason for this rule is to `catch outliers'. The same VCs use a more conventional `majority' rule for... View Details

Keywords: Optimal Voting Rules; Innovation and Invention; Venture Capital; Investment; Decision Making; Voting

SSRN

Read Now

January 2020
Teaching Note

Enfoca: Private Equity in Peru

By: Victoria Ivashina and Terrence Shu

Teaching Note for HBS No. 219-030. View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Emerging Markets; Capital Markets; Transition; Strategy; Peru

November 2000
Case

UPromise

By: Michael J. Roberts and William A. Sahlman

Describes the development of UPromise, a company that has developed a loyalty program through which corporate partners can contribute to funds that finance the education of consumers' children. Presents the accomplishments prior to the company's second round of... View Details

Keywords: Higher Education; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Financial Markets; Programs

Find at Harvard

06 Feb 2023
Blog Post

Meet the Black Investment Club

early-stage venture capital while at HBS, Coates is an active member of the Boston innovation ecosystem from the investor side as a Venture Fellow, now Managing Partner, at Rough Draft Ventures (student fund backed by General Catalyst)... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Venture Capital; Venture Capital

October 1990
Article

The Structure and Governance of Venture-Capital Organizations

By: William A. Sahlman

Keywords: Governance; Venture Capital; Organizations

Find at Harvard

March 1988 (Revised June 1993)
Background Note

Leveraged Betas and the Cost of Equity

The objective is to delineate on methodology for measuring the risk associated with financial leverage and estimating its impact on the cost of equity capital. View Details

Keywords: Cost of Capital; Capital Structure; Equity

Winter 2009
Article

Is Private Equity Out of Control in Latin America?: The Impact of Structures on Private Equity Transactions in Latin America 1988-2007

By: Roberto Charvel

This article explores the private equity industries in 25 Latin American countries from 1988 to 2007. View Details

Keywords: Latin America; Entrepreneurial Finance; Business Startups; Business Cycles; Development Economics; Economic Systems; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Assets; Capital Markets; Venture Capital; Capital Structure; Private Equity; Latin America; North and Central America