Publications
Publications
Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(3,534)
- Faculty Publications (657)
Founders
→
- July 2000 (Revised July 2001)
- Case
Sycamore Networks
By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Daniel J. Green
Founders Desh Deshpande and Dan Smith reflect on Sycamore's sales strategies and consider how going public might affect the morale of its key employees. In the optical networking sector, technological change and exploding demand has created a market for talent in which... View Details
- April 2000
- Case
Financing of Project Achieve, The (A)
By: Mihir A. Desai
An entrepreneur is forced to analyze the tradeoffs between different equity providers through a detailed analysis of venture financing terms and cash flow forecasts. The founder of a Web-based IMS for schools must negotiate a term sheet, determine funding needs, value... View Details
- February 2000 (Revised August 2000)
- Case
Priceline WebHouse Club
By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Jon K Rust
Priceline empowered consumers to "name their own price" for airline tickets and hotel rooms; then it shopped these offers to marketers. Priceline's founder Jay Walker described the resulting transactions as a new ecosystem, that helped consumers realize lower prices... View Details
- February 2000 (Revised November 2002)
- Case
QuickenInsurance: The Race to Click and Close (A)
ES Technologies started in 1976 as a storefront in Tempe, Arizona selling personal computer kits to hobbyists. Twenty years later, revenues exceeded $3.5 billion, and the business had evolved from a computer store to a master reseller and full-line integrator of... View Details
- January 2000 (Revised March 2000)
- Case
Cachet Technologies
By: Paul A. Gompers and Howard Reitz
Describes the decision facing Danny Lewin, Jonathan Seelig, and Tom Leighton, the founders of Cachet Technologies, an MIT spin-out. The firm has done poorly in the annual MIT business plan competition and the founders have to decide whether to continue. View Details
- January 2000 (Revised April 2000)
- Case
AsiaMail.com: What's in a Name?
By: Myra M. Hart and Sharon Peyus
Three founders of an international Internet company (e-mail-based marketing) struggle with naming the company. As they prepare to invest more than $10 million of first-round venture funding in advertising and marketing, they search for a name that will have power and... View Details
- November 1999 (Revised February 2000)
- Case
Granny's Goodies, Inc.
By: Das Narayandas and Katherine B. Korman
The young entrepreneurs of Granny's Goodies, Inc., a corporate gift package specialist, face the challenge of finding ways to create consistent revenue streams and reduce sales costs. Outside of a few long-term contracts, the two founders have had to work very hard for... View Details
- September 1999 (Revised April 2000)
- Case
Novell: World's Largest Network Software Company
By: Richard L. Nolan
After phenomenal growth and market leadership in networking, founder and CEO Ray Noorda made a frontal assault on Microsoft's core strengths. In 1994, Noorda spend over $1.5 billion acquiring companies such as WordPerfect to combat Microsoft Word, products such as... View Details
- August 1999 (Revised May 2000)
- Case
E Ink
By: Teresa M. Amabile and Susan Archambault
E Ink is a high-technology start-up attempting to revolutionize print communication through electronic ink displays. The founders and top managers of this two-year-old firm are striving to translate a technological breakthrough into a working prototype, move from... View Details
- June 1999 (Revised December 2003)
- Case
Snapple
By: John A. Deighton
Tells the story of Snapple's rise and fall, and poses the question "Can it recover?" Many soft-drink brands flourished in the 1980s serving New York's Yuppies, but only Snapple made the big time. It went from local to national success and was poised to go international... View Details
- May 1999 (Revised March 2008)
- Case
Husky Injection Molding Systems
By: Jan W. Rivkin
Husky, a Canadian maker of injection molding systems, has established an enviable position in the market for plastics processing equipment. The company builds the highest performance systems in the business and charges a hefty premium for them. Husky is enjoying robust... View Details
- April 1999 (Revised October 2001)
- Case
Motive Communications
The founders of Motive Communications, Inc., a recent start-up dedicated to reinventing the support chain involved in the delivery of information technology support services, put in place a development process hinged on extensive customer feedback. As part of this, a... View Details
- March 1999 (Revised June 2004)
- Case
Keurig
By: Paul W. Marshall and Jeremy Dann
Nick Lazaris becomes Keurig's third CEO in three years, after one founder was fired and the other decided to leave the company. He inherits a company that has made several abortive attempts to launch its new coffee brewing system. Now, problems with crucial suppliers... View Details
- February 1999 (Revised April 1999)
- Case
Guaranty Trust Bank PLC Nigeria (A)
By: Lynn S. Paine and Hal Hogan
Fola Adeola, the CEO of Nigeria's Guaranty Trust Bank and one of its founders in 1991, is considering what should be done to maintain the bank's original vision and vitality in the face of its rapid growth and success in the marketplace. Known for its high ethical... View Details
- January 1999 (Revised March 2001)
- Case
MindSpring
In a business environment where Internet Service Providers (ISP) has become increasingly commodity-like, Charles Brewer, founder and CEO of MindSpring, the nation's sixth largest ISP and the recognized leader in customer satisfaction, ponders a proposed merger with... View Details
- December 1998 (Revised January 2001)
- Case
Acer, Inc.: Taiwan's Rampaging Dragon
By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Anthony St. George
Describes the strategic, organizational, and management changes that led Acer from its 1976 startup to become the world's second-largest computer manufacturer. Outlines the birth of the company, the painful "professionalization" of its management, the plunge into... View Details
- December 1998
- Supplement
An Interview with Zhang Ruimin, CEO, Haier Group, Video
By: Lynn S. Paine and Jennifer Benqing
Zhang Ruimin, founder and CEO of China's Haier Group, must decide whether to acquire Red Star Electric Appliance Co., an insolvent local manufacturer of washing machines. Although Haier, slated to become one of China's first global brand names, has successfully turned... View Details
- October 1998
- Case
CRA Managed Care, Inc. (C)
By: Myra M. Hart and Susan Harmeling
Chronicles an entrepreneur's transition from chairman/CEO of a large privately held company, to chairman of a public company, to board member, to president of several major nonprofit boards, to founder of a new nonprofit for women business owners and founder of a new... View Details
- August 1998 (Revised June 2000)
- Case
FairMarket, Inc.: Where Buyers and Sellers Connect
By: Lynda M. Applegate, Jack Wieland and Chad M. M Raube
On February 20, 1997, FairMarket, an Internet-based business-to-business auction site, was launched. CEO, founder Scott Randall, drew on his experience building Internet businesses at NECX Direct, Yahoo, and Internet Shopping Network to build his business. This case,... View Details
- March 1998 (Revised December 1999)
- Case
Bronner Slosberg Humphrey
By: David E. Bell and Donald M Leavitt
Bronner Slosberg Humphrey has succeeded by providing integrated direct marketing solutions for major service companies such as AT&T, American Express, and FedEx. A new CEO takes over from the company's founder and is wondering how to grow the company. Options include... View Details