Publications

September 1987
Background Note

What Do Venture Capitalists Do?

By: William A. Sahlman

Presents the results derived from 49 responses to a questionnaire mailed to 100 venture capitalists in late 1984. The purpose of the survey was to shed light on the relationship between venture capitalists and their portfolio companies. The survey revealed that the... View Details

Keywords: Borrowing and Debt; Venture Capital; Investment Portfolio; Recruitment; Surveys; Managerial Roles; Service Operations; Relationships; Service Industry

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June 2010 (Revised August 2021)
Case

Vereinigung Hamburger Schiffsmakler und Schiffsagenten e.V. (VHSS): Valuing Ships

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Albert Sheen

After booming for more than five years, the global shipping (maritime) industry experienced a dramatic crash in late 2008 as the global financial system froze and the global economy slid into recession. Ship charter rates (revenue) fell by as much as 90% causing prices... View Details

Keywords: Fair Value Accounting; Financial Crisis; Capital Markets; Financial Liquidity; International Finance; Globalized Markets and Industries; Valuation; Banking Industry; Shipping Industry; Germany

September 2008 (Revised June 2013)
Case

Odyssey Healthcare

By: Robert F. Higgins, Virginia Fuller and Umer Raffat

In January 2001, Dick Burnham, CEO of Odyssey Healthcare, and Odyssey's Board of Directors were considering selling the hospice care company to a larger provider or making an initial public offering (IPO). With 38 hospice locations in 21 states, Odyssey had been... View Details

Keywords: Liquidity; Venture Creation/development; Hospice; Venture Capital; Financial Liquidity; Business Exit or Shutdown; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Plan; Entrepreneurship; Health Industry; United States

March 2001 (Revised April 2001)
Case

Sustainable Development & Socially Responsible Investing: ABB in 2000

By: Forest L. Reinhardt

Several investment firms and mutual funds position themselves as providers or facilitators of opportunities for socially responsible investment. This case addresses the impact of these firms on publicly traded companies. Focuses on managers at ABB, a large... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Social Enterprise; Corporate Governance; Business Strategy; Capital Markets; Management Teams; Business and Community Relations; Trade; Electronics Industry; Switzerland

07 Dec 2009
Research & Ideas

Government’s Positive Role in Kick-Starting Entrepreneurship

Public Efforts to Boost Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Have Failed—and What to Do about It. Government has played similar catalytic roles in creating hubs of innovation is places such as Tel Aviv and Singapore. Such success stories... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Technology

08 Apr 2021
Blog Post

HBS Entrepreneurship Immersion - Four Highlights

of entrepreneurship! Here is an example of a venture capital event where the VCPE Club, Tech Club, and Women in Investing hosted together. I was joined by Zeya Yang (MBA 2019 and now a Partner at Andreessen Horowitz) and Madeline Keulen... View Details

01 Dec 2018
News

Preparing Our Students for a Changing World

go-to-market projects in sectors ranging from social impact venture capital to artificial intelligence. “Having the chance to deepen my learning in such a hotbed of technological innovation, all while engaging with a dynamic country and... View Details

Fast Answer

Building and Sustaining a Successful Enterprise

data/information Capital IQ - provides public and private company profiles and strong in company financials, capital transactions, etc. For a multimedia learning module on View Details

Fast Answer

Managing Global Operations

features Company information Capital IQ Sophisticated and easy to use search engine, auditable financials, earnings call transcripts, key developments, peer analysis, company ratios. For a multimedia learning module on View Details

Fast Answer

Insurance company filings: Statutory reports

Where can I find insurance company's statutory reports? Here is what you can do: go to S&P Capital IQ Pro type in the company name at the top search box select from choices on left to view Corporate Profile, News and reports... View Details

2022
White Paper

The Partnership Imperative: Community Colleges, Employers, & America's Chronic Skills Gap

By: Joseph B. Fuller and Manjari Raman

The nature of work has changed dramatically across industries in the last few decades due to rapid and repeated waves of automation. Nowhere is this more evident than in middle-skills positions—those that require less than a four-year college degree but more than... View Details

Keywords: Future Of Work; Human Capital; Competency and Skills; Training; Higher Education; United States

Read Now

03 Apr 2019
News

Are MBA Founders More Diverse?

24 Apr 2014
News

Investing in new technologies to accelerate change

Girish Nadkami (MBA 1988), a venture capitalist in Switzerland, talks about the impact of investing in new technologies for communications, robotics, and environmental start-ups. (Published April 2014) View Details

June 2025
Teaching Plan

SWEN Blue Ocean: Impact Investing Goes to Sea

By: Vikram S Gandhi and David Allen

Teaching Plan for HBS Case No. 325-013 View Details

Keywords: Communication Technology; Green Technology; Finance; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Investment; Investment Funds; Science-Based Business; Financial Services Industry; France; Paris; Italy

March 2001 (Revised June 2001)
Case

Identifying and Realizing Investments in Eastern Europe (A)

By: Ray A. Goldberg, Robert E. Kennedy and Laure Mougeot Strook

A Greek milling firm wants to invest in Eastern Europe. The case explores the firm's search strategy and its due diligence process after a potential investment, and considers how the company should structure its bid. A rewritten version of an earlier case. View Details

Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment; Venture Capital; Emerging Markets; Business and Government Relations; Financial Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Europe