Alumni New Venture Competition - Publications - Faculty & Research

20 Feb 2020
Blog Post

Black Visionary Leadership and Redefining What's Possible

“Uncharted: Black Visionary Leadership and Redefining What’s Possible,” February 28-29, combines two new events with the African American Student Union’s (AASU) 47th Annual H. Naylor Fitzhugh Conference: the Black Tech Master Series and a... View Details

17 Dec 2008
Lessons from the Classroom

‘Ted Levitt Changed My Life’

illness in June 2006 at the age of 81, the Bulletin's Class Notes were flooded with dozens of tributes from alumni who recalled his passion and commitment in the classroom and his lasting influence on their careers. "I was clueless... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Education; Retail

14 May 2013
First Look

First Look: May 14

new organizational approach to venture capital through mechanisms that deeply reflected New England's financial investment culture. Purchase this case:... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

14 Mar 2007
Op-Ed

Government’s Misguided Probe of Private Equity

that Judge Medina flagged a half-century ago seem destined to be repeated. Dynamic Industry Far from being a static industry with ossified giants, private equity features brutal competition and enormous dynamism. Groups that were dominant... View Details

Keywords: by Josh Lerner; Financial Services

Thomas R. Eisenmann

Thomas R. Eisenmann is the Howard H. Stevenson Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School; Peter O. Crisp Faculty Chair, Harvard Innovation Labs; and Unit Head of the HBS Entrepreneurial... View Details

21 Dec 2009
Research & Ideas

Good Banks, Bad Banks, and Government’s Role as Fixer

Most books about the nation's financial crisis tell us what happened. In his new book, HBS senior lecturer Robert Pozen tells us how to fix the system. A financial industry veteran and chairman of MFS Investment Management, a Boston firm... View Details

Keywords: by Roger Thompson; Banking; Financial Services

April 2020 (Revised January 2022)
Case

Uber: Competing Globally

By: Alexander J. MacKay, Amram Migdal and John Masko

This case describes Uber’s global market entry strategy and responses by regulators and local competitors. It details Uber’s entry into New York City (New York), Bogotá (Colombia), Delhi (India), Shanghai (China), Accra (Ghana), and London (United Kingdom). In each... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Geography; Geographic Location; Geographic Scope; Globalization; Global Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Governance; Governance Controls; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Innovation and Invention; Disruptive Innovation; Innovation Strategy; Law; Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Markets; Demand and Consumers; Consumer Behavior; Network Effects; Emerging Markets; Market Design; Market Entry and Exit; Market Participation; Supply and Industry; Industry Structures; Planning; Strategic Planning; Relationships; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Labor and Management Relations; Networks; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Expansion; Information Technology; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Digital Platforms; Transportation; Transportation Networks; Transportation Industry; Technology Industry; Africa; Ghana; Asia; China; Shanghai Shi; Shanghai; India; New Delhi; Europe; United Kingdom; England; London; Latin America; North and Central America; United States; New York (city, NY); New York (state, US); South America; Colombia

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November 2024 (Revised July 2025)
Case

Polish Agro: Where Do We Grow From Here?

By: Willy C. Shih, Lena Duchene and Daniela Beyersdorfer

By July 2024, Polish Agro had grown into one of Poland’s fastest-growing agribusinesses, with €230 million in revenue, 82 employees, and operations across Northern Poland. The company supported farmers with essential agricultural inputs like fertilizers and seeds,... View Details

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23 Nov 2020
Blog Post

We Rise

When Hayley Barna (MBA 2010) launched the beauty startup Birchbox in 2010, she expected fundraising would be a challenge. Every entrepreneur knows the long odds: By some estimates, less than 1 percent of new companies receive that coveted... View Details

10 Apr 2006
Research & Ideas

American Auto’s Troubled Road

from abroad, and only relatively benign competition among themselves, the Big 3 and their stakeholders were all happy and doing well." That comfortable situation changed abruptly when oil prices soared in the 1980s, and the Japanese... View Details

Keywords: by Garry Emmons; Manufacturing; Transportation; Auto

September 1991 (Revised January 1992)
Case

Allegheny Ludlum: Research and Engineering Resource Allocation

By: Dorothy Leonard-Barton and Geoffrey K. Gill

Allegheny Ludlum's (AL) technical vice president, Jack Shilling faces the task of determining how to allocate engineering resources among five areas of technology. AL's technology organization has great strategic importance and has therefore been untouched by the... View Details

Keywords: Engineering; Resource Allocation; Information Technology; Policy; Leadership; Decisions; Competency and Skills; Projects; Joint Ventures; Strategy; Electronics Industry; Technology Industry

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December 2017 (Revised May 2018)
Case

Amazon Buys Whole Foods

By: José B. Alvarez, David Lane and Joni Coughlin

The June 2017 news that e-commerce giant Amazon was paying $13.7 billion for organic supermarket chain Whole Foods precipitated a broad sell-off in the shares of grocery retailers and suppliers. Behind the precipitous declines lay recognition that Amazon’s bold move... View Details

Keywords: Amazon; Whole Foods; Grocery; Grocery Delivery; Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Business Models; Food Value Chain; Agribusiness; Mergers and Acquisitions; Operations; Competitive Strategy; E-commerce; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Retail Industry; Web Services Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

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30 Apr 2001
Research & Ideas

Big Companies, Big Opportunities—Big Questions

Domingo, managing director of O&V Associates, said established Latin American companies face a situation in which their markets are no longer protected by national interests and suddenly face competition on all sides. Andres Obregon... View Details

Keywords: by Julie Jette

26 Oct 2020
Blog Post

12 Weeks of VC Summer: Remote Edition

When it became clear that my summer internship with Maverick Ventures, an early stage Venture Capital firm based in San Francisco, was going to be remote, I had a lot of questions on my mind. What would it be like to work with a team I... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital / Private Equity

10 Sep 2014
News

“An Economy Doing Half Its Job”

18 Dec 2019
News

Heads in the Sand

20 Nov 2017
Research & Ideas

How Independent Bookstores Have Thrived in Spite of Amazon.com

bookstores—which already faced competition from superstores like Barnes & Noble and Borders. Indeed, between 1995 and 2000, the number of independent bookstores in the United States plummeted 43 percent, according to the American... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel (with video by Amelia Kunhardt); Retail

18 Aug 2011
Lessons from the Classroom

Business Plan Contest: 15 Years of Building Better Entrepreneurs

field forces a new coda to the contest's history when Baby.com.br ("Brazil's one-stop shop for baby products online") and BOSS Medical (a minimally invasive device for the extraction of bone graft during spinal fusion procedures) are both... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Education

29 Mar 2019
Blog Post

SEI25 Series: Misan Rewane, MBA 2013, CEO WAVE

that! What has your connection been to SEI? WAVE was launched off of the momentum and winnings from the Social Enterprise Track of the HBS New Venture Competition in 2013. The... View Details

July 2012 (Revised July 2015)
Case

Nalli Silk Sarees (A)

By: V.G. Narayanan, Namrata Arora and Vidhya Muthuram

Nalli Silk Sarees Private Limited was a family owned and operated business that retailed Indian ethnic wear. This 83-year-old company had enjoyed impressive growth with a $95 million turnover, a 22-store retail footprint, and had outdone its competitors by being the... View Details