Publications

August 2021
Case

Andreessen Horowitz’s Cultural Leadership Fund (A)

By: Anita Elberse, Briana Richardson and Cydni Williams

In May 2020, Chris Lyons, a partner at leading venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz receives the news that his company has reached a verbal agreement with one of Silicon Valley’s hottest social-media startups to lead its ‘Series A’ funding round, in a deal that... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment; Talent Management; General Management; Inclusion; Talent and Talent Management; Diversity; Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; Networks; Nonprofit Organizations

July 2012
Case

Revenue Solutions, LLC

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

Ari Wasserman and Nick Esayian were both dissatisfied with their future prospects in their current careers. Wasserman, who managed an infomercial business for a direct response consumer marketing company, wanted more flexibility and ownership. Esayian was the CEO of... View Details

Keywords: Work-Life Balance; Partners and Partnerships; Small Business; Israel; United States

January 2010 (Revised March 2010)
Compilation

Firm Strategy Vignettes

By: Josh Lerner, G. Felda Hardymon and Ann Leamon

These three vignettes present various issues around the strategy and management of a private equity firm. In one, a senior partner must decide how to manage an over-extended colleague and how to reduce the risk of the firm's portfolio; in the second, a limited partner... View Details

Keywords: Outcome or Result; Business Strategy; Problems and Challenges; Private Equity; Venture Capital; Investment Portfolio; Partners and Partnerships

January 1986 (Revised March 1997)
Case

Horizon Group

By: William A. Sahlman

Contains a description of a situation confronting the co-founder of a company planning to produce software for microcomputers. The company has just completed raising money from some wealthy investors by forming an R&D Limited Partnership. Development of the program (an... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Venture Capital; Partners and Partnerships; Business Plan; Outcome or Result; Research and Development; Financial Strategy; Corporate Finance; Information Technology Industry

September 2024
Supplement

Revenue Solutions, LLC (A)

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

Pre-Abstract: Instructors should consider the timing of making videos available to students, as they may reveal key case details.

Abstract: Ari Wasserman and Nick esayian were both dissatisfied with their future prospects in their current careers. Wasserman,... View Details

Keywords: Personal Development and Career; Partners and Partnerships; Ownership

February 2006 (Revised June 2007)
Case

Brazos Partners and Cheddar's Inc.

By: G. Felda Hardymon, Josh Lerner and Ann Leamon

Randall Fojtasek, a partner at Brazos Private Equity Partners, must decide whether to invest more money in Cheddar's restaurant chain, which the firm invested in 10 months earlier. The incremental investment would fund a real estate subsidiary that would own the... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Deal; Price; Partners and Partnerships; Management; Investment; Leadership; Business Subsidiaries; Stocks

June 1988 (Revised December 1991)
Case

An Tai Bao Coal Mining Project

By: W. Carl Kester and Richard P. Melnick

An Tai Bao is the world's largest open-pit coal mine and is located in China's Shanxi province. After eight years of planning and negotiating, Occidental Petroleum, the foreign partner in the deal, is about to sign an ownership and financing agreement for $475 million... View Details

Keywords: Planning; Agreements and Arrangements; Non-Renewable Energy; Equity; Partners and Partnerships; Negotiation Deal; Joint Ventures; Mining Industry; China

January 2004 (Revised May 2005)
Case

Gold Hill Venture Lending

By: G. Felda Hardymon, Josh Lerner and Ann Leamon

David Fischer is trying to raise $200 million for a first-time venture debt fund that will be affiliated with Silicon Valley Bank, a major technology lender. Despite his lengthy experience in venture lending, the process is proving difficult. He and his partners are... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Value Creation; Venture Capital; Partners and Partnerships; Decision Choices and Conditions; Investment Funds; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry

08 Apr 2014
First Look

First Look: April 8

non-core users when they are perceived as brand tourists. The brand tourism effect is mediated by core users' pride and moderated by brand patriotism and selectiveness of the brand. August 2013 Harvard Business Review The Limits of Scale:... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

12 Aug 2008
First Look

First Look: August 12, 2008

accurately reflect the demographic diversity of the U.S. population. Yet, most research on diversity in organizations has focused on the outcomes associated with workforce diversity and not on the processes that can enhance diversity in organizations. We address this... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 2024
Case

Comun: Partners in Peril

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Alexis Lefort

In spring 2023, Abiel Gutierrez and Andres Santos, co-founders of Comun, faced a critical decision at their fintech startup serving Latino immigrants. Having launched their product the previous year, they experienced rapid growth but encountered rising fraud and... View Details

Keywords: Fintech; Business Development; Venture Capital; Business Startups; Partners and Partnerships; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Financial Services Industry; Banking Industry; Latin America; United States

12 Nov 2013
First Look

First Look: November 12

case: http://hbr.org/search/513053-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 314-09 IBM and the Reinvention of High School (A): Proving the P-TECH Concept IBM, through its corporate citizenship arm, demonstrated the role of business in View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

12 Apr 2011
First Look

First Look: April 12

limitations of governance and information-intermediation institutions worldwide, should IFRS limit the use of fair-value accounting? How should the IASB respond to the growing power of emerging markets such... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

09 Jan 2024
In Practice

Harnessing AI: What Businesses Need to Know in ChatGPT’s Second Year

limitations of generative AI solutions, discerning optimal use cases, and establishing boundary conditions will be pivotal. Responsible AI and AI ethics. As integration of AI systems deepens into society, businesses, and education, an... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Information Technology

2008
Working Paper

Deterring Online Advertising Fraud Through Optimal Payment in Arrears

By: Benjamin Edelman

Online advertisers face substantial difficulty in selecting and supervising small advertising partners. Fraud can be well-hidden, and limited reputation systems reduce accountability. But partners are not paid until after their work is complete, and advertisers can... View Details

Keywords: Misleading and Fraudulent Advertising; Online Advertising; Profit; Corporate Accountability; Partners and Partnerships; Mathematical Methods

Read Now

24 Sep 2013
First Look

First Look: September 24

may benefit from limited developer access. Second, an open platform may lead to higher investment than a proprietary platform. Third, opening one side of a proprietary platform may lower incentives to invest in platform quality. Fourth,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

30 Jan 2013
Working Paper Summaries

These Are the Good Old Days: Foreign Entry and the Mexican Banking System

Keywords: by Stephen Haber & Aldo Musacchio; Banking

October 2007
Case

iPhone vs. Cell Phone

By: David B. Yoffie and Michael Slind

The launch of Apple's iPhone marked a pivotal new chapter in the story of mobile music (the uniting of digital music players with mobile phones). The iPhone combined an iPod music player, a cell phone, and a mobile Internet device, along with a camera and other... View Details

Keywords: Communication Technology; Music Entertainment; Product Launch; Partners and Partnerships; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Communications Industry; Music Industry