Publications

28 Mar 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research, March 28

https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/617010-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 817-002 Classtivity: Payal's Pirouette A few months after launching a new fitness technology product, the small staff of New York startup Classtivity... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

21 Jul 2014
Research & Ideas

Is a Gap in Small-Business Credit Holding Back the American Economy?

engine for innovation and job creation to drive competitiveness, while also providing a path to a prosperous lifestyle for countless American families. But today, small businesses are not creating these jobs at the rate that we need. The recession saw an unprecedented... View Details

Keywords: by Karen Mills; Manufacturing

March 2008 (Revised June 2008)
Case

Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer

Describes a set of key strategic decisions facing the scientific founder and CEO of a promising, early stage bio-pharmaceuticals company. Should the company establish a proposed alliance with a pharmaceutical firm? Should it create a nutraceuticals business in parallel... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Decision Choices and Conditions; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Risk Management; Brands and Branding; Pharmaceutical Industry

November 2012
Case

Edison Schools, Inc.

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Lauren Barley

Edison Schools, Inc., a pioneer in the for-profit management of public schools, demonstrates the challenges and opportunities related to private sector involvement in the delivery of a public good. Follows the organization from its start-up through its initial public... View Details

Keywords: Charter Schools; Conflict of Interests; Initial Public Offering; For-Profit Firms; Public Sector; Market Entry and Exit; Education; Business Startups; Education Industry

05 Jul 2004
Research & Ideas

Radical Change, Entrepreneurial Opportunity

That's right. Incumbents are constrained by their existing resources, capabilities, and mindset, and this simultaneously places a weight on the back of the large company and creates potential for the entrepreneur. For the most part you will find that View Details

Keywords: by Michael J. Roberts; Technology

January 2003 (Revised December 2003)
Case

Joint Juice

Focuses on Joint Juice, a start-up in the new-age beverage category. The company has a patented formula for producing a glucosamine beverage, the only one on the market. (Glucosamine is a nutritional supplement believed to help rejuvenate joints and treat arthritis.)... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Business or Company Management; Competitive Strategy; Expansion; Corporate Strategy; Industry Structures; Entrepreneurship; Food and Beverage Industry

August 1990 (Revised March 1991)
Case

Eli Lilly and Co. (C): Japan

By: Michael Y. Yoshino

Describes the process of establishing an independent operation in Japan in the mid-1980s as a result of a decision to make a major investment in the market. Describes the challenges in setting up such an operation and focuses on the role of the country manager in... View Details

Keywords: Business Divisions; Business Startups; Decisions; Investment; Growth Management; Managerial Roles; Markets; Problems and Challenges; Pharmaceutical Industry; Japan

March 1999 (Revised July 1999)
Case

Crunch

By: Paul W. Marshall and Jeremy Dann

Entrepreneur Doug Levine runs a fitness company with an incredibly powerful brand. His company leverages the brand to expand, both in terms of facilities and lines of business. But he may need to make significant organizational changes in order to continue the growth. View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Expansion; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Startups; Brands and Branding; Service Industry; Health Industry

01 Oct 2024
Cold Call Podcast

Choosing Passion: A Founder’s Mission to Meet a Need for Obesity Care

Keywords: Re: Jon M. Jachimowicz; Health

August 2016
Teaching Note

Mahindra Lifespace Developers' Venture into Affordable Housing

By: Joseph B. Fuller and Monica Baraldi

Mahindra Lifespace Developers Limited (MLDL) was the infrastructure and real estate arm of the Mahindra Group, an Indian conglomerate with revenues of $16.5 billion in 2014. Employing 400 experts in land acquisition, design, project management, sales and marketing, and... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Business Startups; Development Economics; Developing Countries and Economies; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Social Entrepreneurship; Housing; Emerging Markets; Business and Government Relations; Human Needs; Social Issues; Urban Development; Real Estate Industry; India

September 2010
Teaching Note

The Challenges of Launching a Start-Up in China: Dorm99.com (TN)

By: F. Warren McFarlan

Teaching Note for 307075. View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Capital; Investment; Joint Ventures; Product Launch; Business and Government Relations; Entrepreneurship; Opportunities; Business Startups; Problems and Challenges; Social and Collaborative Networks; Beijing

26 Jul 2016
First Look

July 26, 2016

https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/216076-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 516-094 Airbnb, Etsy, Uber: Acquiring the First Thousand Customers By 2016, two-sided online platforms (or marketplaces) were pervasive among the highest growing internet View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

16 Jul 2021
Op-Ed

For Entrepreneurs, the Benefits of Slowing Down

A few months ago, I wrote about the ridiculous increase in velocity that we are seeing in the venture capital market in my post, Velocity and Venture Capital: 11. Now that summer is upon us, I want to reflect on the subtle value of... View Details

Keywords: by Jeffrey Bussgang

11 May 2010
First Look

First Look: May 11

Standard theories of corporate ownership assume that because markets are efficient, insiders ultimately bear agency costs and therefore have a strong incentive to minimize conflicts of interest with outside investors. We show that if... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

April 2019
Case

Afterpay U.S.: The Omnichannel Dilemma

By: Antonio Moreno, Donald Ngwe and George Gonzalez

In 2018, Nick Molnar, the founder of the Australia-based online payment service Afterpay began its expansion to the U.S. market. The service had gained a loyal following in Australia by enabling customers to pay for online purchases through four interest-free... View Details

04 Jun 2013
First Look

First Look: June 4

Publications 2006 O'Reilly Media, Inc. Managing Startups: Best Blog Posts By: Eisenmann, Tom, ed. Abstract—Harvard Business School Professor Tom Eisenmann annually compiles the best posts from many blogs on technology startup... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

July 2008 (Revised January 2010)
Case

Affinity Labs, Inc.

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Elizabeth Kind

In November 2006, Chris Michel left Military.com, which he founded in 1999, to start Affinity Labs, a global network of online communities. That month, Michel raised a Series A round of venture funding and established a partnership with Monster, which he had sold... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Demand and Consumers; Partners and Partnerships; Social and Collaborative Networks; Online Technology