Publications

April 2024 (Revised August 2024)
Case

The Engine

By: Joshua Lev Krieger, Jim Matheson, Fiona Murray and Nicholas Christman

The Engine, a venture capital firm founded by MIT to fill a gap in the technology funding landscape by commercializing breakthrough science and technology. Led by managing partner and CEO Katie Rae, the Engine's unique approach involved an unusually longer fund life,... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Mission and Purpose; Venture Capital; Business Startups; Entrepreneurial Finance; Financial Services Industry

April 2024
Article

Model-based Financial Regulations Impair the Transition to Net-zero Carbon Emissions

By: Matteo Gasparini, Matthew C. Ives, Ben Carr, Sophie Fry and Eric Beinhocker

Investments via the financial system are essential for fostering the green transition. However, the role of existing financial regulations in influencing investment decisions is understudied. Here we analyse data from the European Banking Authority to show that... View Details

Keywords: Climate Change; Investment; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Energy Sources

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April 2024
Teaching Note

eBee: Affordable Mobility for Africa

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Gamze Yucaoglu and Jordan Mitchell

The case opens in March 2023, as Sten van der Ham and Jaap Maljers, CEO and co-founder of eBee, an electric bike (e-bike) company in Africa, are contemplating the different avenues for growth and path to profitability for the young and ambitious company. In 2023, the... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Value Creation; Competition; Expansion; Logistics; Profit; Resource Allocation; Corporate Strategy; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Product Marketing; Entrepreneurial Finance; Bicycle Industry; Africa; Kenya

March 2024
Tutorial

FRC: The Balanced Scorecard

By: Trevor Fetter

This brief video tutorial explains the concept and application of The Balanced Scorecard, developed by Prof. Robert Kaplan of HBS. It has been used in the MBA required course, Financial Reporting and Control. View Details

Keywords: Balanced Scorecard

March 2024 (Revised June 2024)
Case

The Annenberg Foundation: Promoting Diversity in the Investment Management Industry

By: Randolph B. Cohen and Johnson Elugbadebo

Keywords: Investment Management; Investing; Foundations; Fund Management; Diversity; Investment; Investment Funds; Financial Services Industry

March 2024
Case

Lyft 2023: Roads to Growth and Differentiation

By: Ranjay Gulati and Jeffrey Huizinga

Set in San Francisco in winter 2023, this case explores the strategic challenges and initiatives at Lyft under the leadership of its new CEO, David Risher. Confronted with declining market share and financial pressures, Risher spent his first six months at the helm... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Turnarounds; Ridesharing; Transition; Strategy; Culture; Change Management; Transportation Industry; Technology Industry

March 2024 (Revised July 2024)
Case

AMC: The Zero Revenue Case

By: C. Fritz Foley and Donal O'Cofaigh

The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic put theatre company AMC’s already perilous financial situation under even further strain. The company’s high levels of debt resulted in a monthly cash-burn which left it facing an imminent Chapter-11 filing in the absence of... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Public Equity; Stock Shares; Health Pandemics; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

March 2024 (Revised September 2024)
Case

Vineyard Wind Starts Spinning (A): Overcoming Onshore Challenges to Offshore Wind

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Jacob A. Small

To activate the first wind turbines in the ocean off Martha’s Vineyard eventually supplying clean energy to 400,000 households, Vineyard Wind’s leaders had to navigate the permitting process, numerous delays, and objections from stakeholders in three communities:... View Details

Keywords: Climate Change; Renewable Energy; Joint Ventures; Green Technology; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Massachusetts; Martha's Vineyard; New Bedford; New England

March 2024 (Revised June 2024)
Case

Kashat: Navigating the Uncertainties of the Egyptian Fintech Market

By: Paul A. Gompers and Ahmed Dahawy

Karim Nour, the founder of Kashat, an Egyptian nano-lending fintech company, is contemplating how to manage the growth of his startup. Over the summer of 2022, Kashat's loan disbursements had grown by nearly 40%, fueled by macroeconomic instability in Egypt. However,... View Details

Keywords: Fintech; Business Model; Developing Countries and Economies; Acquisition; Business Exit or Shutdown; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Startups; Financing and Loans; Capital; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Egypt

March 2024
Case

Funderbeam: Teaming Up or Going Alone?

By: Paul A. Gompers, Elena Corsi and Orna Dan

Funderbeam, a global platform founded in Estonia to enable start-ups to run private syndications and secondaries while offering liquidity for private equity investors, was at a crossroads. Over its ten-year run, the company had expanded its services and areas of... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Business Exit or Shutdown; Transition; Leading Change; Business or Company Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Law; Mergers and Acquisitions; Financing and Loans; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Ownership Stake; Expansion; Business Startups; Venture Capital; Financial Services Industry; Estonia; Republic of Ireland; United Kingdom; Singapore

March 2024
Case

Nomad: A License to Bank

By: Paul A. Gompers and Pedro Levindo

In late 2023, Lucas Vargas, CEO and co-founder of Nomad, a fintech that offered financial services in the United States for Brazilian residents, had to decide what to do to ensure the company’s continued expansion. Nomad launched its first product, a U.S. digital bank... View Details

March 2024
Case

East Rock Capital: 'Talent Is the Best Asset Class'

By: Boris Groysberg, Sarah L. Abbott and Izzy Yeoh

Adam Shapiro and Graham Duncan launched East Rock Capital, LLC in 2006 with a seed investment from Stuart Miller, executive chairman of Lennar Corporation. East Rock managed long-term assets for high-net-worth families, primarily working with external managers who had... View Details

Keywords: Alternative Assets; Hiring; HNW Products And Services; Recruiting; Hedge Funds; Wealth Management; Asset Management; Private Equity; Financial Institutions; Marketing Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Financial Services Industry; United States

March 2024
Module Note

Accounting Standards for the 21st Century

By: Jonas Heese

Over the past two decades, accounting standards have evolved to meet the demands of a rapidly changing business environment. This module note focuses on understanding the impact of these standards on measuring firm performance and financial position in the context of a... View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Standards; Performance Evaluation; Change Management

March 2024
Module Note

Navigating the Future: Managing Financial Forecasts

By: Mark Egan

This module note guides instructors on delivering a course module that focuses on understanding, developing, and using financial forecasts from a chief financial officer’s (CFO) perspective. The cases in the module equip students with an understanding of the techniques... View Details

Keywords: CFO; Forecasting; Corporate Finance; Forecasting and Prediction; Financial Management; Revenue; United States

February 2024
Teaching Note

AB InBev: Brewing Up Forecasts during COVID-19

By: Mark Egan and C. Fritz Foley

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 224-020. In July 2021, the CEO of AB InBev's European operations and his team strategized to position the company for success post-pandemic. As the world's largest beer company, boasting over 500 brands, revenue of $46 billion, and a... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting; Investor Relations; Beverage Industry; Corporate Finance; Decisions; Forecasting and Prediction; Health Pandemics; Analytics and Data Science; Digital Transformation; Crisis Management; Business Model; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; Europe

February 2024 (Revised July 2024)
Case

Korea Venture Investment Corporation

By: Paul A. Gompers and Billy Chan

Financial service sector Korea Venture Investment Corporation (KVIC) is the venture capital arm of the Korean government with a founding mission to build a domestic startup ecosystem that would be as competitive as Silicon Valley. KVIC manages a basket of... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Society; Investment; Venture Capital; Mission and Purpose; State Ownership; Financial Services Industry; Asia; South Korea

February 2024
Teaching Note

Data-Driven Denim: Financial Forecasting at Levi Strauss

By: Mark Egan

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 224-029. Levi Strauss & Co. (“Levi Strauss”) partnered with the IT services company Wipro to incorporate more sophisticated methods, such as machine learning, into their financial forecasting process starting in 2018. The decision to... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting; Regression; Machine Learning; Artificial Intelligence; Apparel; Corporate Finance; Forecasting and Prediction; AI and Machine Learning; Apparel and Accessories Industry; United States

February 2024
Case

Innovation Strategy at Stanley Black & Decker: Setting the Direction for Growth

By: David L. Ager and Antonio Manuel Oftelie

On July 1, 2022, Don Allan was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Stanley Black & Decker (SBD). Although Allan had been with the firm for 23 years, most recently serving as President and Chief Financial Officer, he recognized that he was stepping into his new role as... View Details

Keywords: Health Pandemics; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Innovation Leadership; Growth Management; Business and Stakeholder Relations

February 2024 (Revised February 2024)
Case

CLSA: Integrating ESG in Stock Valuation

By: Shirley Lu, Aaron Yoon and Billy Chan

In 2023, a senior financial analyst at the Hong Kong-based stock brokerage firm CLSA was surprised to see that, based on his calculations, the financial impact from climate risks on a major Indian cement manufacturing company’s projected earnings could be massive.... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Corporate Governance; Analysis; Stocks; Valuation; Environmental Sustainability; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Hong Kong; China; India; Asia