Publications

July 2021
Article

Medical Debt in the U.S., 2009–2020

By: Raymond Kluender, Neale Mahoney, Francis Wong and Wesley Yin

Importance: Medical debt is an increasing concern in the US, yet there is limited understanding of the amount and distribution of medical debt, and its association with health care policies.

Objective: To measure the amount of medical debt nationally and by... View Details

Keywords: Debt; Borrowing and Debt; Health Care and Treatment; United States

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01 Jun 2008
News

The Prophet of Start-Ups

(HBS Press, 2008), by BusinessWeek editor Spencer E. Ante. What follows is an excerpt adapted from the book. Venture capital has existed in one form or another since the earliest days of commercial activity. The Spanish monarchy and... View Details

Keywords: Spencer E. Ante; George Doriot; Charles F. Kettering; Lawrence Lowell; F. Warren Hellman; Finance; Finance; Finance

October 1988
Case

Harris Seafoods Leveraged Buyout

By: William A. Sahlman

Describes set of issues confronting Alison Lassiter, who is trying to help Charlie Harris arrange a leveraged buyout of the shrimp company he runs, a division of a publicly traded company, Katy Industries. Lassiter has prepared a memorandum discussing and analyzing the... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Venture Capital; Financing and Loans; Equity; Cost vs Benefits; Negotiation Tactics; Negotiation Preparation; Financial Management; Strategy; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Planning; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

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November 2000
Case

Reuters Greenhouse Fund

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Daniel Galvin

Reuters Greenhouse Fund had successfully invested in a portfolio of 79 companies working in areas relevant to Reuters Group's strategic interests. It had itself facilitated a powerful network among the companies and become a respected global venture capital firm.... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Investment; Investment Portfolio; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Financial Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Transition; Partners and Partnerships; Networks; Internet; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry

01 Mar 2003
News

Naina Lal Kidwai

more familiar legal and judiciary system, better protection for intellectual property, and strong English language and engineering skills. The Indian banking system is... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons; Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles; Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles

June 2022 (Revised October 2022)
Case

Can Goodr Fight Food Insecurity at Scale?

By: Daniel Isenberg and William R. Kerr

Jasmine Crowe founded Goodr to redirect food waste to people in need. Now a profitable enterprise, she’s searching for Series A funding and encountering pushback. Scaling and contract concerns are also at the forefront of her mind, but so are her values. Feeding... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Investor Demand; Food; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Values and Beliefs; Social Issues; Race; Opportunities; Contracts; Mission and Purpose; Financing and Loans

January 2025
Case

Negotiating a Legacy at Sustainable Harvest (A)

By: Jillian Jordan, Julian Zlatev, Alicia Dadlani and Martha Hostetter

The specialty coffee importer Sustainable Harvest was the first certified B Corp in the coffee industry due to its investments in building coffee farmers’ capacity and livelihood. But in 2022, after coffee prices plummeted and the company’s bank declined to extend its... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Mergers and Acquisitions; Trust; Ethics; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Volatility; Futures and Commodity Futures; Social Enterprise; Valuation; Business Model; Credit; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; Europe

August 2022
Supplement

Sweet Teez Bakery: Projecting the Dough’s Rise Financial Supplement

By: Emily R. McComb, Mel Martin and Amy Klopfenstein

Abstract: In 2021, the HBS Impact Investment Fund student team met with entrepreneur Teresa Maynard, who had applied for a $25,000 impact investment loan. The students thought the former Harvard Data Scientist’s bakery business, Sweet Teez Bakery, showed promise.... View Details

Keywords: Impact Investment; Entrepreneurship; Social Entrepreneurship; Finance; Investment; Goods and Commodities; Financial Reporting; Small Business; Food and Beverage Industry; Massachusetts; United States

January–March 2000
Article

Un nuevo índice de precios para México, 1886-1929 [A New Price Index for Mexico, 1886-1929]

By: Aurora Gómez-Galvarriato and Aldo Musacchio

We present new price indices for the period 1886-1929. These indices have several advantages with respect to the previous ones: i) they cover the whole period with the same methodology, and by reaching 1929 these series can be joined with contemporary price indices,... View Details

Keywords: Price; Inflation and Deflation; Macroeconomics; Mexico

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March 1985 (Revised November 1988)
Case

Precision Parts, Inc. (A)

By: William A. Sahlman

Contains a description of a decision confronting two entrepreneurs in mid-1981. They are considering purchasing a small manufacturer of precision electromechanical parts. Among the issues in the case are the following: 1) Should Taylor and Grayson buy Precision Parts,... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Venture Capital; Financing and Loans; Cost vs Benefits; Investment Return; Strategy; Management Practices and Processes; Risk and Uncertainty; Outcome or Result; Manufacturing Industry

March 2021 (Revised January 2022)
Case

Revlon: Surviving Covid-19

By: Kristin Mugford and Sarah Gulick

In October 2020, Revlon faced a crossroads. While it had been struggling with high levels of debt before COVID-19, the pandemic had caused it to go further into debt. Unlike other financial crises, many consumers had stopped buying skincare or cosmetics, and sales of... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Leveraged Buyouts; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Financial Liquidity; Bonds; Corporate Finance; Borrowing and Debt; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; United States

26 Jan 2021
Research & Ideas

A New Way to Cut Credit Card Debt: Pay Off One Purchase at a Time

A novel approach to repaying debt could help consumers free themselves from crushing credit card balances faster, according to new research. Rather than asking borrowers to make payments toward their total balances, Harvard Business School Professor Michael I. Norton... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Financial Services

May 2005 (Revised January 2006)
Case

Mortgage Backs at Ticonderoga

Ticonderoga is a small hedge fund that trades in mortgage-backed securities--securities created from pooled mortgage loans. They often appear as straightforward so-called "pass-throughs," but can also be pooled again to create collateral for a mortgage security known... View Details

Keywords: Debt Securities; Mortgages; Investment Funds

February 2001 (Revised June 2001)
Case

ClubTools, Inc.

By: Paul W. Marshall and Kristin Perry

Discusses the development of an Internet start-up by a recent HBS graduate. Details the company's business plan, incubation, technology development, marketing strategy, and search for funding. View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Business Plan; Cash Flow; Marketing Strategy; Financing and Loans; Technological Innovation; Internet and the Web; Forecasting and Prediction

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May 2007 (Revised January 2011)
Case

Bankinter: Deploying the Mortgage Simulator to the Branches

Describes how Bankinter, a mid-sized Spanish bank, altered the information set available to its customer-facing employees. In the spring of 2003, Bankinter introduced an Excel-based program called the Mortgage Simulator that helped branch managers calculate the price... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Value and Value Chain; Banks and Banking; Mortgages; Employees; Motivation and Incentives; Spain

12 Aug 2002
Research & Ideas

‘Let the Buyer Beware’ Doesn’t Protect Investors

need substantial additional financing before ever becoming profitable. But the prospectus certainly included pages of disclaimers, reviewed and approved by a law firm, that were intended to protect the bank... View Details

Keywords: by D. Quinn Mills

01 Jun 2010
News

Merton Receives Prestigious Award

University Professor Robert Merton, a member of the HBS faculty since 1988 and cowinner of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Economics, recently received the Kolmogorov Medal from the University of London. He was honored for his distinguished work... View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools

27 Oct 2009
First Look

First Look: October 27

changes in financing constraints. Cases & Course Materials Avid Radiopharmaceuticals and Lighthouse Capital Partners Matthew Rhodes-Kropf and Ann LeamonHarvard Business... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

October 2019 (Revised April 2020)
Background Note

Note on Funding Deep Tech Startups

By: Karim Lakhani, Peter Barrett and Noubar Afeyan

This Background Note provides essential information on funding deep technologies—those technologies that were inherently capital intensive, time consuming, risky, and potentially disruptive. Both dilutive and non-dilutive sources of investment are highlighted, along... View Details