Publications

Shelly Xu Archives | Social Enterprise

Social Enterprise Track of the HBS New Venture Competition, we ... INITIATIVES focus on societal challenges that are too complex for any one discipline or industry to solve alone. View Details

December 2002 (Revised April 2007)
Case

Cargill (A)

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Jose M. M. Porraz

Cargill is one of the world's leading marketers, processors, and distributors of agricultural, food, industrial, and financial products. In 1998, the company decided to develop a strategic intent to restructure and refocus the company. It did so in response to the... View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Agribusiness; Restructuring; Industry Structures; Global Strategy; Genetics; Demand and Consumers; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

July 2023
Case

Honeycomb

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Kumba Sennaar

Honeycomb, an audio app enabling seniors to record stories and save family memories, suddenly draws interest from a younger user demographic. The co-founders consider pivoting to better serve this new user demographic. How should they think about strategy, brand, and... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Operations; Business Startups; Customer Focus and Relationships; Age; Brands and Branding; Technology Industry; United States

Fast Answer

Sustainable investing and ESG resources

provided to CDP by companies responding publicly to an information request sent by CDP on behalf of its signatory investors. Datasets include Climate Change Data, Supply Chain Data, Water Data, Forests Data, and CDP Scores Data. Private Equity and View Details

20 Jul 2017
News

Life Lab Nurtures Early Stage Startup Day Zero Diagnostics

the i-lab have given us the opportunity to do just that,” says Lee, who explains that the amount of capital required to do complex wet lab science is an order of magnitude more than what a typical software View Details

Keywords: Scientific Research and Development Services

14 Dec 2020
Blog Post

Our Top 5 Blog Posts of 2020

Venture Capital at Harlem Capital Walking into Harvard Business School as friends, roommates, and colleagues in 2017, Henri Pierre-Jacques (MBA 2019) and Jarrid Tingle (MBA... View Details

Keywords: All Industries

December 2019
Case

WeWork Files for an IPO

By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz

For the board of The We Company—better known as WeWork—August 14, 2019, promised to be a pivotal day. It was then that WeWork’s IPO prospectus, known as an S-1 filing, would be made public, giving potential investors, the media, and the general public a window into the... View Details

Keywords: Capital Structure; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Going Public; Leadership; Management; Private Equity; Valuation; Venture Capital; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; United States

January 2010 (Revised November 2012)
Case

Savage Beast (A1)

By: Noam Wasserman and LP Maurice

For several months, things had been spiraling downwards at Savage Beast, the music-recommendation company started three years before by Tim Westergren. The company's founder-CEO recently left due to pressures both at home and within the venture. Dozens of investors... View Details

Keywords: Business Exit or Shutdown; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Financing and Loans; Lawsuits and Litigation; Management Teams; Partners and Partnerships

April 2021
Teaching Note

Thingtesting: Launching a Brand Discovery and Testing Digital Community

By: Ayelet Israeli and Jill Avery

Teaching Note for the "Thingtesting: Launching a Brand Discovery and Testing Digital Community" HBS Case No. 520-086. View Details

21 Apr 2011
Research & Ideas

Searching for Better Practices in Social Investing

to worthy applicants, venture philanthropists proactively find opportunities and develop them. "A big part of the model is first seeking out the entrepreneur and the opportunity and then, and only then, figuring out what the View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Financial Services

December 1996 (Revised July 1997)
Case

USG Corporation

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Tara L. Nells

In 1988, USG was the world's largest gypsum producer and one of the world's largest building-products companies. On May 2, 1988, USG's board of directors announced a proposed leveraged recapitalization plan to thwart a hostile cash tender offer by Desert Partners. With... View Details

Keywords: Capital Structure; Mergers and Acquisitions; Corporate Governance; Valuation; Cash Flow; Leveraged Buyouts; Restructuring; United States