Publications

September 1998 (Revised November 1998)
Case

Walnut Venture Associates (D): RBS Deal Terms

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Business Plan; Research; Software; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Information Technology Industry

February 2019 (Revised January 2021)
Case

Quiksilver Inc. and Oaktree Capital Management

By: Kristin Mugford and Mike Harmon

Sports lifestyle company Quiksilver filed for bankruptcy in September 2015. Oaktree is considering an additional investment in the company to facilitate the restructuring. Students must consider whether Oaktree should invest given the risks of the turnaround... View Details

Keywords: Bankruptcy; Bankruptcy Reorganization; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Acquisition; Restructuring; Debt Securities; Transformation; Decision Making; Borrowing and Debt; Investment Return; Crisis Management; Negotiation; Retail Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Consumer Products Industry; France; United States

August 2017 (Revised September 2023)
Case

Altoona State Investment Board & Bain Capital Fund XI

By: Josh Lerner and Ted Berk

Considers the decision faced by state pension fund manager Rod Calhoun as he decides whether to invest $200 million in Bain Capital's eleventh global buyout fund: Bain Capital Fund XI. For the fund, Bain was offering its limited partners a choice among three different... View Details

Keywords: Equity Method; Leveraged Buyout; Management Buyout; Capital; Design; Entrepreneurship; Finance; Leveraged Buyouts; Management; Private Equity; Venture Capital; Banking Industry; Massachusetts

Web

Frequently Asked Questions | New Venture Competition

limitations on the amount of seed capital raised or revenue generated? If I compete/am a winner in the New Venture Competition, can I also participate in other Rock Programs and Harvard Competitions? Alumni... View Details

September 1998 (Revised July 1999)
Case

Spyder Active Sports, Inc. and CHB Capital Partners (A)

By: John A. Davis, Louis B. Barnes and Peter K. Botticelli

After establishing a small but profitable skiwear business, an entrepreneur decides to sell a minority stake in the firm to outside investors. His goal is to acquire the capital needed to grow the business, even though this will entail a substantial transformation of... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Private Equity; Family Business; Business Growth and Maturation; Entrepreneurship; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Sports Industry

October 2018 (Revised August 2023)
Case

Safecast: Bootstrapping Human Capital to Big Data

By: Ethan Bernstein and Stephanie Marton

On March 11, 2011, at 2:46pm, a 9.1-on-the-Richter-scale, six-minute long earthquake unleashed a tsunami that ravaged the Tohoku region of Japan, damaging the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power facility and releasing sufficient radioactive material into the air and ocean... View Details

01 Jun 2018
News

Stitch Fix CEO on Building Diverse Teams

Keywords: entrepreneurship; venture capital; leadership; women in business; gender diversity

December 1999 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Capital Alliance Private Equity: Creating a Private Equity Leader in Nigeria

Describes the creation of the first private equity fund in Nigeria and the fund's potential first investment in GS Telecom, a Nigerian telecommunication service company. The fund's managers are keenly aware that a bad first investment could create a vicious circle for... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; Telecommunications Industry; Nigeria

March 1995
Article

Venture Capitalists and the Oversight of Private Firms

By: Josh Lerner

Keywords: Venture Capital; Private Ownership; Business Ventures

Find at Harvard

April 1994
Article

Venture Capitalists and the Decision to Go Public

By: Josh Lerner

Keywords: Venture Capital; Decision Making; Going Public

Find at Harvard

1999
Other Unpublished Work

Executive Ownership and Control in Newly Public Firms: The Role of Venture Capitalists

By: Malcolm Baker and Paul Gompers

We study the implications of CEO equity ownership for incentives and control in a sample of 1,011 newly public firms. Before an initial public offering, equity investments by venture capitalists reduce CEO ownership by about half, from an average of 35 percent to 19... View Details

Keywords: Equity; Ownership; Motivation and Incentives; Initial Public Offering; Investment; Venture Capital; Managerial Roles; Cost Management; Governance Controls; Executive Compensation

Read Now

October 2007 (Revised July 2013)
Case

Vertex Pharmaceuticals and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation: Venture Philanthropy Funding for Biotech

By: Robert F. Higgins, Sophie LaMontagne and Brent Kazan

In 2001, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated acquired the San Diego-based biotech company, Aurora Biosciences. The combination of Vertex's and Aurora's technologies would improve the flow of novel drug candidates into development. However, several questions related to... View Details

Keywords: Philanthropy; Philanthropy Funding; Innovation; Funding Model; Venture Capital; Partners and Partnerships; Financing and Loans; Investment Funds; Acquisition; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Biotechnology Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; San Diego

24 Mar 2002
Lessons from the Classroom

Case Study: A Lesson in Private Venture Financing

With few opportunities for IPOs, a developing infrastructure, low transparency, and a limited labor market, the environment for private venture financing in Africa could be described as "challenging" at best. Yet if the demands... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

September 1998 (Revised December 1998)
Case

Walnut Venture Associates (A): RBS Group Investment Memorandum

The Walnut Group's investigation of the RBS Group, a young software company is described. The RBS business plan is also included. View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Business Plan; Research; Software; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Information Technology Industry

September 1998 (Revised May 1999)
Case

Walnut Venture Associates (C): RBS Due Diligence--Market Size

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Business Plan; Research; Applications and Software; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Information Technology Industry