Publications

October 2023 (Revised March 2024)
Case

KOKO Networks: Bridging Energy Transition and Affordability with Carbon Financing

By: George Serafeim, Siko Sikochi and Namrata Arora

The problem was massive: two million hectares of African forests were lost annually to charcoal production for cooking, an area equivalent to 13 times Greater London, resulting in one billion tons of carbon emissions yearly. At the same time, an estimated 700,000... View Details

Keywords: Clean Tech; Digital; Carbon Credits; Carbon Offsetting; Climate Change; Entrepreneurship; Energy Sources; Environmental Sustainability; Health; Market Design; Business Startups; Transition; Environmental Regulation; Policy; Energy Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Africa; Kenya; Rwanda

10 Jan 2023
Op-Ed

Time to Move On? Career Advice for Entrepreneurs Preparing for the Next Stage

to individual contributor and in one recent case, a CEO-founder sold their company and is now transitioning to a leader within a very large organization. In each of these cases, these were not overnight changes, but rather they were thoughtful shifts that each View Details

Keywords: by Julia Austin

26 Aug 2024
Blog Post

HBS Lingo 101

and a general management perspective in private enterprise, government, and the nonprofit sector. HMS: HMS is short for Harvard Medical School. Together with HMS, we offer the MD/MBA which provides the informed leadership necessary for... View Details

Profile

Pam Chan

Pam Chan began her career in consumer products, starting with one of the biggest CPG companies in the world, Procter and Gamble. "In school, I knew I wanted to be a marketer involved in brand management and product design," she... View Details

Keywords: CPG; Tech

11 Jun 2013
First Look

First Look: June 11

in 2007. A sizeable portion of the growth can be explained by rising asset management fees, which in turn were driven by increases in the valuation of tradable assets, particularly equity. Another important factor was growth in fees... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

Web

Academics - Health Care

student-initiated learning enables students to choose their faculty sponsor and the organization where they will work. Recent projects include: Quantifying the size of the medical tourism market Identifying applications for multiplex protein analysis techniques... View Details

13 Dec 2022
Interview

Why Some Start-Ups Fail to Scale

By: Jeffrey Rayport and Curt Nickisch

Managing rapid growth is a huge challenge for young businesses. Even start-ups with glowing reviews and skyrocketing sales can fail. That’s because new ventures and corporate initiatives alike have to sustain profitability at scale, according to Harvard Business School... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Growth Management; Outcome or Result; Transition

Read Now

February 2000 (Revised May 2001)
Case

eBricks.com

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann

eBricks.com is developing an online marketplace for construction materials. The start-up company faces two decisions: 1) whether to merge with BluelineOnline.com, a firm providing project management solutions for the construction industry; and 2) whether to develop an... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Marketplace Matching; Decision Choices and Conditions; Business Startups; Construction Industry

December 2006 (Revised March 2008)
Case

Prosper Marketplace, Inc.

By: William A. Sahlman and Elizabeth Kind

Describes a set of financial and strategic decisions confronting the founding management team of a new online financial services company. Prosper Marketplace is an internet-based market for individuals to borrow money from other individuals who wish to invest in such... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Financial Strategy; Innovation and Invention; Management Teams; Financial Services Industry

Find at Harvard

Profile

Taylor Walden

classroom moment? Undoubtedly, my most memorable classroom moment was when I took the leap and pitched my startup idea to my section mates during the second day of The Entrepreneurial Manager (TEM) this... View Details

03 Oct 2017
First Look

First Look at Research and Ideas, October 3, 2017

industries. Extreme Teaming provides new insights into the world of complex, cross-industry projects and the ways they must be managed. The authors analyze contemporary cases that expose the complex demands of cross-boundary collaboration on View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

Web

Curriculum - Business & Environment

the reduced carbon footprint. The Entrepreneurial Manager Ofo Key concepts: Infrastructure, Bicycles, Transportation, Ride Share Dai Wei and his co-founders grew Beijing-based ofo from a school-based startup... View Details

01 Jun 2024
News

Quantum Leap

“This is the first new kind of computer in 75 years,” says John Levy (MBA 1979), CEO of the quantum computing startup SEEQC. “And we’re building it on a chip!” Strolling through his company’s design and testing facility in Elmsford, New York, Levy looks less like a... View Details

Keywords: Alexander Gelfand; photographed by Chris Sorensen; quantum computing; innovation; leadership; Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing; Manufacturing

Career Coach

Nathan Lasche

Nathan (Stanford ‘02, HBS ‘10) is currently a Product Manager at YouTube / Google where he focuses on building YouTube’s music products. Prior to YouTube, Nathan was an early employee at the edtech company Knewton in New York, and... View Details

April 2001 (Revised August 2001)
Case

Color Kinetics Incorporated (A)

By: Das Narayandas and Mary N. Caravella

Two-year-old start-up Color Kinetics has developed unique colored lighting technology using digitally controlled LEDs, and has developed that technology into a successful line of products for its first targeted market of "retailtainment." Now in November 1999, the... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Growth and Development; Management Teams; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Market Entry and Exit; Business Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Electronics Industry

December 1997 (Revised February 2000)
Case

Hewlett Packard: Creating, Running, and Growing an Enduring Company

By: H. Kent Bowen and Courtney Purrington

Traces the development of Hewlett-Packard Co. from a small start-up company in 1938 to a world-class manufacturer of electronic instruments and computer products. Examines the challenges of starting and running a small company, including financing, human resources... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Product Positioning; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Startups; Brands and Branding; Computer Industry; Electronics Industry

16 Apr 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, April 16, 2019

Management Review What to Do When Industry Disruption Threatens Your Career By: Groysberg, Boris, Eric Lin, and Whitney Johnson Abstract—This article discusses how to diagnose the risks that disruptive industry forces pose to individual... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

27 Apr 2021
Research & Ideas

IPO or M&A? How Venture Capital Shapes a Startup's Future

worked closely together tend to hold on to startups longer—four and a half years, on average—before moving toward a high-profile exit. While becoming a public company can bring a startup more attention and... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

November 2008
Case

Eden McCallum

By: Heidi K. Gardner and Robert G. Eccles

This case illustrates the leadership and management challenges of starting a new firm based on a new business model and how success creates pressures that challenge the work/life balance which was one of the original goals of its two founders. The case also raises... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Leadership; Work-Life Balance