Publications

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June 2003
Case

Peabody Simpson at the Crossroads

By: Rajiv Lal, Nitin Nohria and Leslie Freeman

Three managing directors at Peabody Simpson had just returned from a firm-wide recruiting event at Columbia University, which they had covered together, as all were alumni. They were commiserating about having to submit revised forecasts to their division heads by the... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Capital Budgeting; Recruitment; Reports; Organizational Design

Fast Answer

Entrepreneurial Marketing

research databases: understand industries, competitive landscape, consumers. eMarketer: marketing reports and infographics for both B2B and B2C. Also useful for understanding how users are using video, social, and mobile. View Details

22 Sep 2015
News

Investing in Scalable Impact on K-12 Education

Vivian Wu (MBA 2000) manages Zuckerberg Education Ventures, an impact investing initiative that supports education entrepreneurs who are developing scalable businesses that will improve learning outcomes and increase access to high-quality education for large numbers... View Details

23 Jun 2014
News

In Venture Capital, Birds of a Feather Lose Money Together

Web

HBS - Financials | Statement of Activity & Cash Flows

Cash Available from Capital Activities $107 $107 $72 Capital Expenses $(31) $(43) $(22) Change in Capital Project-Prefunding $2 10 (14) Use of Gifts for View Details

23 Apr 2014
News

Think about the unexpected to get the best results

Byron Wien, (AB 1954, MBA 1956), chief investment strategist of Pequot Capital Management, on learning to deal with the unexpected and taking risks to get the best results. (Published April 2014) View Details

March 2017 (Revised November 2021)
Case

Floodgate: On the Hunt for Thunder Lizards

By: Rory McDonald, Alix Burke, Emma Franking and Nicole Tempest

Founded in 2008, Floodgate pioneered the “micro-VC” category, a new type of investment firm that raised smaller funds and made earlier, smaller investments in technology startups than traditional venture-capital firms. By 2015, Floodgate had raised three funds totaling... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Business Models; Angel Investors; Crowdfunding; Incubators; Accelerators; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Business Startups; Information Technology; Business Model; Innovation and Invention; Competitive Strategy

March 2005 (Revised February 2006)
Case

Advising on Currency Risk at ICICI Bank

In March 2003, a client approached the Markets Advisory Group at ICICI Bank, India's second largest bank, about a hedging transaction. The hedge involved multiple interest rates and currencies. Shilpa Kumar, head of the Markets Advisory Group, has to put together a... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Currency Exchange Rate; Capital Markets; Investment Funds; Banks and Banking; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry; India

April 2004 (Revised March 2008)
Case

Precise Software

By: Paul A. Gompers and Sara Bergson

Yossi Sela, general partner at Gemini Venture capital, considers a new investment in Precise Software. The firm is at a crisis point, and Sela needs to decide whether he will fire the firm's chief executive officer. Conflicts between the American CEO and the Israeli... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Investment; Resignation and Termination; Crisis Management; Managerial Roles; Conflict and Resolution; Israel; United States

01 Dec 2011
News

Uncle Sam’s Business Man

Barry Johnson (MBA ’89) has over 20 years of business experience as an entrepreneur and corporate executive with media giants such as the Walt Disney Company, Bertelsmann, and Sony Music Corporation. With expertise in public-private partnerships, he’s now putting his... View Details

August 2023
Article

What About the Race Between Technology and Education in the Global South? Comparing Skill-premiums in Colonial Africa and Asia

By: Ewout Frankema and Marlous van Waijenburg

Historical research on the race between education and technology has focused on the West but barely touched upon ‘the rest’. A new occupational wage database for 50 African and Asian economies allows us to compare long-run patterns in skill premiums across the colonial... View Details

Keywords: Skill Premium; Human Capital; Wages; History; Education; Africa; Asia

Read Now

Knight founded Nike by capitalizing on the fitness craze of the 1970s and 1980s. Through skillful advertising and innovative product development, Knight was able to build a billion dollar business in ten years. View Details

Keywords: Fabric & Apparel

22 Feb 2017
News

Funding Solar’s Future

Photos courtesy Double Time Capital Photos courtesy Double Time Capital A recent Fortune article profiles Double Time Capital, an investment firm focused on utility-scale solar farms in North Carolina... View Details

Keywords: Electric Power Generation, Transmission, Distribution; Utilities

May 2025
Case

Windsurf and the AI Code Assistant Market

By: Suraj Srinivasan, Sudhanshu Nath Mishra and Radhika Kak

In April 2025, the founding team of Windsurf, an AI start-up specializing in code generation gathered in Mountain View, California, to assess its remarkable year of growth. The company had scaled from a niche GitHub Copilot alternative to a breakout player with over... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Venture Capital; Innovation Leadership; Technological Innovation; Business Growth and Maturation; Competition; Business Strategy; Technology Industry; United States

January 2011
Teaching Note

Banco Compartamos: Life after the IPO (TN)

By: Michael Chu

Teaching Note for 308-094. View Details

Keywords: Banks and Banking; Initial Public Offering; Investment Return; Financial Institutions; Microfinance; Capital Markets; Competition; Decisions; Banking Industry; Mexico

October 2011 (Revised November 2011)
Case

Verengo Solar Plus!

By: William A. Sahlman, Joseph B. Lassiter III and Liz Kind

In the three years since Bishop and Button purchased Verengo in a leveraged buyout (LBO), the company had gone through dramatic changes. Initially a residential windows and insulation firm, after the economic recession of 2008 the company switched gears and began... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Private Equity; Growth Management; Restructuring; Renewable Energy; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Corporate Finance; Product Development; Energy Industry; California

March 1990 (Revised November 2004)
Case

O.M. Scott & Sons Co. Leveraged Buyout

By: George P. Baker III and Karen Wruck

Documents the organizational changes that took place at O.M. Scott & Sons Co. in response to their leveraged buyout. Provides the opportunity for students to discuss the effects of high leverage on management decision making, and the differences between operating as a... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Capital Structure; Borrowing and Debt; Organizational Structure; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Management; Business Conglomerates; Cost of Capital; Financial Services Industry