Publications

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

10 Oct 2007
Working Paper Summaries

Harnessing Our Inner Angels and Demons: What We Have Learned About Want/Should Conflicts and How That Knowledge Can Help Us Reduce Short-Sighted Decision Making

Keywords: by Katherine L. Milkman, Todd Rogers & Max H. Bazerman

July 2008
Article

Harnessing Our Inner Angels and Demons: What We Have Learned About Want/Should Conflicts and How That Knowledge Can Help Us Reduce Short-Sighted Decision Making

By: Katherine L. Milkman, Todd Rogers and Max Bazerman

Although observers of human behavior have long been aware that people regularly struggle with internal conflict when deciding whether to behave responsibly or indulge in impulsivity, psychologists and economists did not begin to empirically investigate this type of... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Ethics; Policy; Behavior; Conflict and Resolution

Find at Harvard

2007
Working Paper

Harnessing Our Inner Angels and Demons: What We Have Learned About Want/Should Conflicts and How That Knowledge Can Help Us Reduce Short-Sighted Decision Making

By: Katherine L. Milkman, Todd Rogers and Max H. Bazerman

Although observers of human behavior have long been aware that people regularly struggle with internal conflict when deciding whether to behave responsibly or indulge in impulsivity, psychologists and economists did not begin to empirically investigate this type of... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Ethics; Policy; Behavior; Conflict and Resolution

Read Now

July–August 2015
Article

The Secret of Singapore: Why Cuba Should Look to Lee Kuan Yew's Thriving City-State for Economic Inspiration

By: Debora L. Spar

Between 1965 and 1991, Singapore grew at an astonishing compound annual growth rate of nearly 14%. Critics of the island's performance accused its celebrated leader, Lee Kuan Yew, of thinly veiled tendencies toward communism and authoritarianism; they argued that the... View Details

Keywords: Economic Models; Communism; Economic Policy; Economic Reform; Angel Investors; Authoritarianism; Economic Systems; Economy; Policy; Government and Politics; Singapore; Cuba

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February 2014
Background Note

Raising Startup Capital

By: Jeffrey Bussgang

Entrepreneurs typically focus their full energies on business-building. But raising capital is a core part of building a valuable business. Developing expertise in raising capital is more than a necessary evil, it is a competitive weapon. Master it and you will be in a... View Details

February 2014 (Revised August 2016)
Case

Strava

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III, William A. Sahlman and Sid Misra

Strava is a new fast-growing social network for the avid cyclist and runner. The Strava case traces the entrepreneurial journey of two serial entrepreneurs who have been co-founders in a prior venture, and who have co-founded Strava 3 years ago. The protagonists must... View Details

June 2012 (Revised March 2015)
Teaching Note

PunchTab, Inc.

By: Ramana Nanda and William R. Kerr

A Teaching Note for the PunchTab case, which discusses how high-tech startups structure seed financing, merits of angels vs. super angels vs. VCs, and related topics (e.g., convertible notes, priced versus non-priced financing rounds, entrepreneurial finance networks). View Details

Keywords: Finance; Entrepreneurial Finance; Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship

15 Apr 2010
Working Paper Summaries

The Consequences of Entrepreneurial Finance: A Regression Discontinuity Analysis

Keywords: by William R. Kerr, Josh Lerner & Antoinette Schoar

September 2007 (Revised October 2010)
Case

DermaCare: Zapping Zits Directly

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Lauren Barley

DermaCare has developed an innovative new product for the treatment of acne that they hope to sell to consumers via direct-response television. The unconventional nature of the product and its distribution has led the company to seek angel financing. The Silicon Valley... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Venture Capital; Investment; Innovation and Invention; Product; California

October 2011 (Revised August 2017)
Case

PunchTab, Inc.

By: Ramana Nanda, William R. Kerr and Lauren Barley

PunchTab was a Silicon Valley startup, founded in 2011, that was developing an Internet-based turnkey customer loyalty program for website owners, mobile applications developers, and brands. Founder/CEO Ranjith Kumaran must make strategic decisions about how to fund... View Details

Keywords: Financial Strategy; Investment; Investment Funds; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; San Francisco

02 Aug 2011
First Look

First Look: August 2

temporary moratorium that followed the spill, the case ends with discussion of possible regulatory responses. Purchase this case:http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/product/711021-PDF-ENG The Changing Face of Angel Investing William A. Sahlman... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

November 2017
Supplement

Winning (and Losing) the Olympics: Boston 2024 (B)

By: David Fubini, Ethan Bernstein, Mark Saadine, Sarah McAra and James Barnett

A summary of events that occurred after the (A) case, including Los Angeles winning nomination for the 2028 Olympics with assistance from Pagliuca and Boston 2024 bid material. View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Projects; Los Angeles; Boston

23 Jan 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, January 23, 2018

abstract available. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=49783 January 2018 Journal of Financial Economics The Globalization of Angel Investments: Evidence Across Countries By: Lerner, Josh, Antoinette Schoar,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

12 Jan 2016
First Look

January 12, 2016

https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=50177 The Globalization of Angel Investments: Evidence across Countries By: Lerner, Josh, Antoinette Schoar, Stanislav Sokolinski, and Karen Wilson Abstract—This paper examines investments... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

March 2019 (Revised May 2019)
Case

Space Angels, Multiple Equilibria, and Financing the Space Economy

By: Matthew C. Weinzierl and Alissa Haddaji

Chad Anderson had reason to be proud of his young space-focused investment firm, Space Angels. Since becoming CEO, Anderson had overseen growth along multiple dimensions, and Space Angels was “the preeminent name in space finance” according to one prominent space... View Details

Keywords: Space Economy; Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; Strategy; Business Model; Aerospace Industry

28 Jun 2018
Cold Call Podcast

L.A. Philharmonic Shows the American Symphony Orchestra Isn’t Dead Yet

Keywords: Re: Rohit Deshpande; Entertainment & Recreation; Fine Arts

December 2018 (Revised March 2019)
Case

R/GA: Corporate Venture Studio vs. Accelerator

By: Andy Wu, Grant Son and Aastha Thakkar

New approach to accelerating the development of innovation through corporate venturing by creating partnerships between startup venture and established corporations through the launch of the Global Sports Venture Studios created by R/GA Ventures and the Los Angeles... View Details