Publications

November 1999 (Revised March 2000)
Case

Sam Huttenbauer: Entrepreneurship in Food Preservation and Nutraceuticals

By: Ray A. Goldberg, Carin-Isabel Knoop, Stacey J. Bell and David Benedict Pearcy

Sam Huttenbauer is trying to get two companies, in high-pressure food preservation and in nutraceuticals, off the ground. This case covers strategic, marketing, and financing challenges. It also looks at innovative technologies in the food industry and the role of the... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Food; Problems and Challenges; Corporate Strategy; Marketing; Finance; Technological Innovation; Commercialization

07 Feb 2011
Lessons from the Classroom

Creating the Founders’ Dilemmas Course

four sections of the course, with 68 students in each section. Some 170 more students were wait-listed. The course's popularity is a reflection of its universal nature—it addresses quandaries that virtually all entrepreneurs will face... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Education

December 2012 (Revised July 2015)
Supplement

Nalli Silk Sarees (B)

By: V.G. Narayanan, Namrata Arora and Vidhya Muthuram

Presents the company's perspective using an interview format. Ramnath K. Nalli, vice chairman of Nalli Silk Sarees Private Limited, and his daughter, Lavanya Nalli (HBS MBA 2011), the fifth generation entrepreneur to be involved in the family business, discuss customer... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Consumer Behavior; Entrepreneurship; Apparel and Accessories Industry

January 2022 (Revised August 2022)
Case

Jackie Robinson: Changing the World

By: Robert Simons and Max Saffer

This case traces the rise of Jackie Robinson from the poor streets of Pasadena, California to one of the most famous people in America after he overturned the color barrier in baseball. The case describes how as a youth he excelled at basketball, football, baseball,... View Details

Keywords: Diversity; Power And Influence; Personal Characteristics; Values And Beliefs; Mission And Purpose; Sports; Entrepreneurship; Leadership; Leading Change; Personal Development and Career; United States

June 19, 2023
Article

Should You Start a Generative AI Company?

By: Julian De Freitas

Many entrepreneurs are considering starting companies that leverage the latest generative AI technology, but they must ask themselves whether they have what it takes to compete on increasingly commoditized foundational models, or whether they should instead... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; AI and Machine Learning; Applications and Software

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April 1999 (Revised February 2001)
Case

Davis Boatworks

By: Howard H. Stevenson, Michael J. Roberts and Matthew C. Lieb

A successful entrepreneur is considering his need for growth financing and his desire to achieve some personal liquidity. He has arguably the most successful sportfishing boat made, but sees the need both to grow further and to reduce his personal exposure to a... View Details

Keywords: Growth Management; Business Growth and Maturation; Personal Finance; Entrepreneurship; Manufacturing Industry

09 Mar 2003
Research & Ideas

Education, Technology, and Business: What’s the Catch?

to this point? First of all, we need to understand that "hardware is no good if it just sits in the corner," said Salinas, and we should focus on getting teachers ready to use it. Hardware is no good if it just sits in the corner.—Nereyda Salinas, Youth Tech... View Details

Keywords: by Carla Tishler; Education

August 2023 (Revised February 2024)
Case

DexAI

By: Jo Tango and Christina Wallace

During a challenging fundraising environment, the DexAI founders received two term sheets with nearly identical economic terms but very different legal ones. The entrepreneurs had to navigate: representations and warranties (their personal guarantees that the company's... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital Term Sheet; Term Sheet; Term Sheets; Founders; Legal Aspects Of Business; Seed Financing; Founders' Agreements; Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans; Intellectual Property; Entrepreneurial Finance; Contracts; Business Startups; Agreements and Arrangements

July 1997
Case

Graffs, The (A)

By: Carl S. Sloane and Gregory C. Rogers

Examines dual-career issues and conflicts between spouses' career objectives, personal values, and life structures. It does so by a in-depth examination of the lives and careers of a professional couple (a successful entrepreneur and a lawyer), choice points in their... View Details

Keywords: Work-Life Balance; Family and Family Relationships; Conflict Management

January–February 2019
Article

Why Some Platforms Thrive and Others Don't

By: Feng Zhu and Marco Iansiti

In the digital economy, scale is no guarantee of continued success. After all, the same factors that help an online platform expand quickly—such as the low cost of adding new customers—work for challengers too. What, then, allows platforms to fight off rivals and grow... View Details

Keywords: Digital Platforms; Competition; Network Effects; Competitive Strategy

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September 2018
Supplement

Advent International: Kroton Investment

By: Victoria Ivashina, Priscilla Zogbi and Ruth Kostas

Keywords: Private Equity; Acquisition; IPO; Valuation; Education; Distance Learning; Turnaround; Growth; Exit; PE; Buyer; Middle-class; Low Income; K-12; Entrepreneur; Family Business; University; College; Consolidation; Fragmentation; Penetration; Value; Shares; Control; Negotiation; Equity; Transaction; Board; Majority; Minority; Post-secondary; Leverage; Campus; Deal; Shareholder; Tag Along

11 May 2017
Working Paper Summaries

Coordination Frictions in Venture Capital Syndicates

Keywords: by Ramana Nanda and Matthew Rhodes-Kropf; Banking

October 2019
Case

David Yin's Vegetarian Mission

By: Boris Groysberg and Evan M.S. Hecht

After the establishment of his critically-acclaimed upscale vegetarian restaurant, King’s Joy, in Beijing, chef and entrepreneur David Yin must decide whether or not to expand to other locations or continue to invest in his existing location in order to fulfill his... View Details

Keywords: Restaurant; Restaurant Industry; Creative Ability; Creative Industries; Values; Entrepreneurship; Creativity; Food; Values and Beliefs; China

August 2006 (Revised June 2015)
Background Note

Female Entrepreneurship in Developed and Developing Countries

By: Geoffrey Jones and Alexis Lefort

Examines the extent of and challenges facing female entrepreneurs in developing countries. There are higher rates of female entrepreneurship in developing countries than developed countries, but necessity is often the main driver in lower income countries. Explores the... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Gender; Developing Countries and Economies

06 Apr 2009
Research & Ideas

Cheers to the American Consumer

identifying the Joneses like you. Immigration. The prevalence of immigrants among America's successful entrepreneurs is well documented. But the same curiosity and openness to new things also characterizes consumer demand in the American... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

October 2000 (Revised November 2001)
Case

Garage.com (A)

By: Dorothy A. Leonard and Elizabeth Kind

Silicon Valley's Garage.com matches venture capital and corporate angel investors with high-tech start-ups that are looking for early stage funding. As a Web-based service, Garage.com fields inquiries from entrepreneurs and investors around the world, and is eager to... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Corporate Strategy; Business Growth and Maturation; Venture Capital; Investment; Internet and the Web; Expansion; Operations; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Global Strategy; Technological Innovation; Brands and Branding; Information Technology Industry

August 1995 (Revised July 1997)
Case

Passion for Learning

Describes the challenges confronting a recent HBS graduate who has started a direct-mail toy company. The entrepreneur must evaluate industry conditions in both toys and direct mail, and determine whether he has developed a viable business concept. Presents detailed... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship