Publications

October 2019 (Revised January 2020)
Supplement

Dulcie Madden (C)—A Final Chance?

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Shweta Bagai

This is part of a three-case series that follows Dulcie Madden's journey as a founder over five years. Case (A) is about managing growth and cash flow; Case (B) is about the exit decision and conditions on a sale; Case (C) shows Madden dealing with adversity and the... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Growth Management; Cash Flow; Success; Failure; Acquisition; Business Model; Technology

November 2006 (Revised May 2007)
Background Note

Merton's Ethos of Science: Excerpts and Summaries

Robert K. Merton wrote a series of papers on the sociology of science in the 1940s and 1950s and is commonly recognized as the founder of the field. Merton laid out four norms that constitute the "ethos" of science: community-wide fundamentals that he proposed were... View Details

Keywords: Science; Ethics

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

Keywords: Business Startups; Venture Capital; Brands and Branding; Internet and the Web; Entrepreneurship; Advertising; Marketing; Information Technology Industry; Service Industry; Asia

Find at Harvard

July 1989 (Revised February 1993)
Case

National Demographics & Lifestyles (B)

Picks up where National Demographics & Lifestyles (A) left off, describing the company's financing and very successful performance through 1987. At this point, the founders and venture backers face some difficult choices around how and when to harvest the value they... View Details

Keywords: Demographics; Financing and Loans; Initial Public Offering; Marketing; Success; Performance; Value Creation; Industrial Products Industry

April 2005 (Revised January 2007)
Case

Furman Selz LLC (A): A Tale of Two Acquisitions

By: Nancy D. Beaulieu, Boris Groysberg and Kyle Doherty

Profiles a firm that was reacquired by two companies with different degrees of success. Highlights integration challenges present in acquisition deals when the primary assets of the target are human capital. Focuses on Furman Selz's acquisition by Xerox in 1987; its... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Transition; Valuation; Human Capital; Compensation and Benefits; Integration; Organizational Culture; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States

12 Mar 2014
News

An Alternative to Graduate School Built by a Powerhouse Pair of HBS Alums

02 Jul 2021
News

Bezos’ Exit Is One of Many Among Amazon’s Top Ranks

04 Nov 2019
Video

Patrick Chalhoub

Patrick Chalhoub, CEO of Dubai-based luxury retailer Chalhoub, discusses the phases of succession in his family business, including the handover from the founders (his parents) and the creation of a more... View Details

September 2015 (Revised September 2017)
Case

Pershing Square 2.0

By: Robin Greenwood, Samuel Hanson and David Biery

In June 2015 William A. Ackman, the CEO and founder of New York hedge fund Pershing Square Capital, reflects on the success of the fund he has spent over a decade building. Since its inception in 2004, Pershing Square's assets under management had grown from $500... View Details

Keywords: Activism; Value Investing; Portfolio Management; Management; Investment Portfolio; Investment Activism

April 2005 (Revised January 2006)
Case

Protege Partners: The Capacity Challenge

By: Randolph B. Cohen

In February 2005, Jeffrey Tarrant (HBS '85) and Ted Seides (HBS '99) considered their strategy for Protege Partners, founded in July 2002 as a fund of hedge funds (FOHF) specializing in small hedge funds. Protege's assets under management had grown to $1.1 billion, and... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business Growth and Maturation; Investment Funds; Financial Services Industry

11 Nov 2022
Video

Pathways to Inclusive Entrepreneurship: The State of Inclusive Entrepreneurship

15 Feb 2022
Cold Call Podcast

How to Make Venture Capital Accessible for Black Founders: An Entrepreneur’s Dilemma

Keywords: Re: Jo Tango

December 1996 (Revised June 1998)
Case

Midnight Networks, Inc.

By: H. Kent Bowen and Marilyn Matis

Midnight Networks, Inc., is a small computer network validation company. This case describes how the five founders built their business from operations earnings and how they established "best practices" operational processes to run their firm successfully. Operational... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business or Company Management; Operations; Organizational Culture; Applications and Software; Business Startups; Business Growth and Maturation; Information Technology Industry; Massachusetts

October 2022
Supplement

Framebridge (B): A New Approach

By: Rembrand Koning and Alicia Dadlani

In 2022, after revamping operations and expanding retail stores, Framebridge founder and CEO Susan Tynan is optimistic for the future but realizes changing market dynamics. New competitors are entering the market, and margin pressures remained. This case is part two of... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Business Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Operations; Market Entry and Exit; Consumer Products Industry; United States; District of Columbia; Kentucky

June 2012 (Revised June 2012)
Case

PunchTab, Inc. Investor Presentation Deck

By: William R. Kerr and Ramana Nanda

This case examines the PowerPoint presentation that Ranjith Kumaran, founder of the start-up PunchTab, Inc., is using for his investment pitches to venture capital firms. Students can discuss the materials that Kumaran has included, his presentation style, and what... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Management; Presentations; Venture Capital; Business Startups