Publications

June 2002 (Revised October 2004)
Case

Entropia (A)

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III, Sameer Ahuja and Jason Tepperman

The Entropia management team and a Harvard Business School field study team look for applications for "grid computing" in the financial services industry, identifying a "go-to-market" plan for this new technology. View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Business Strategy; Financial Services Industry

Web

Speculation and Credit - Coin and Conscience – Baker Library | Bloomberg Center, Historical Collections

Brichet, after Joseph Franz von Goez (1754–1815). [Augsburg] 1784. 23.5 x 16.2 cm CE f1 x Plate twenty-eight from Exercises d'Imagination de Différents Caractères et Formes Humaines . . . Augsburg, 1784–85, of which plates one to... View Details

Abe Plough

In 1908, with $125 borrowed from his father, Plough formed Plough, Incorporated by selling Antiseptic Heating Oil door to door. Over the next 65 years, Plough transformed his company from a small manufacturer of toiletries to a... View Details

Keywords: Healthcare

July 2000 (Revised July 2001)
Case

Sycamore Networks

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Daniel J. Green

Founders Desh Deshpande and Dan Smith reflect on Sycamore's sales strategies and consider how going public might affect the morale of its key employees. In the optical networking sector, technological change and exploding demand has created a market for talent in which... View Details

Keywords: Applied Optics; Entrepreneurship; Sales; Business Strategy; Initial Public Offering; Retention; Employees; Communication Technology; Technological Innovation; Communications Industry; Telecommunications Industry

August 1998 (Revised June 2013)
Case

Business Plan for Room For Dessert: Adding Unique Ingredients to Life's Balancing Act

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Michael J. Roberts

Summarizes the business plan for a concept restaurant focused on late evening dessert service as well as its subsequent rollout plan. View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Planning; Business Plan; Outcome or Result; Service Operations; Experience and Expertise; Service Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

April 2011
Teaching Note

U.S. Department of Energy & Recovery Act Funding: Bridging the "Valley of Death" (TN)

By: Ramana Nanda, Joseph B. Lassiter III and Michael J. Roberts

Teaching Note for 810144. View Details

Keywords: Energy; Financing and Loans; Risk and Uncertainty; Commercialization; Programs; Innovation and Invention; Capital; Government and Politics; United States

September 2009 (Revised February 2014)
Case

Nantucket Nectars: The Exit

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III, William A. Sahlman and Noam Wasserman

The founders of Nantucket Nectars are trying to decide whether and how to sell their company. View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Exit or Shutdown; Decision Choices and Conditions; Auctions; Food and Beverage Industry; Massachusetts

August 2001 (Revised April 2005)
Case

Surface Logix

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III, Michael J. Roberts and Kim Slack

Describes a start-up in the field of nano technology--very small physical structures measured in the billionths of a meter. The company, Surface Logix, has assembled a portfolio of intellectual property and completed some of the R&D work required to develop actual... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Research and Development; Marketing Strategy; Product Marketing; Product Development; Intellectual Property; Investment Portfolio

October 2015 (Revised January 2017)
Case

UPower Technologies Inc.

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III, William A. Sahlman and Liz Kind

The UPower founders, Jake DeWitte and Caroline Cochran, were recent graduates from MIT's Nuclear Science and Engineering Department. They chose to attend Palo Alto–based Y Combinator's accelerator program to focus on building a "mini" nuclear reactor that would produce... View Details

Keywords: Nuclear; Nuclear Energy; Nuclear Power; Energy Markets; New Nuclear; Entrepreneurial Finance; Entrepreneurial Marketing; Business ＆ Government Relations; Off-grid; Energy; Renewable Energy; Energy Generation; Energy Sources; Entrepreneurship; Marketing; Business and Government Relations; Energy Industry; Utilities Industry; United States

Profile

Jeff Bussgang

too. Remember Stephen Covey’s seventh effective habit: ‘sharpening the saw’? By interacting with people like Bill Sahlman, Noam Wasserman and Joe Lassiter – among many other terrific faculty, staff and... View Details

August 2002 (Revised February 2003)
Case

Myteam.com

By: John T. Gourville, Joseph B. Lassiter III and Taslim Pirmohamed

Elliot Katzman is faced with the need to raise cash and cut spending to develop his online amateur sports software application, Myteam.com. Even with powerful allies such as Little League and Coca-Cola, "big deals with big players" had not kept the company from running... View Details

Keywords: Cash Flow; Financial Management; Leadership Style; Crisis Management; Resource Allocation; Alliances; Sports; Web Sites; Sports Industry; Web Services Industry

Find at Harvard

October 2000 (Revised April 2005)
Case

Z Corporation

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III, Matthew C. Lieb and Tom Clay

Tom Clay, president of Z Corp., and founder/CEO Marina Hatsopolous must decide between using a direct sales force or using a value-added reseller to begin selling the company's new 3-D printing prototype manufacturing system. View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Salesforce Management; Distribution Channels; Conflict and Resolution; Technology Industry

September 1999 (Revised August 2000)
Case

Roadside Attractions LLC

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III, John T. Gourville and Nicole Tempest

Eric d'Arbeloff, producer of independent films, must decide between two offers for distribution of his new movie, "Trick." The case tracks the assembly of resources and the effects of technological change in the film business. View Details

Keywords: Disruptive Innovation; Decision Choices and Conditions; Distribution; Technological Innovation; Change Management; Entrepreneurship; Film Entertainment; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

Find at Harvard

01 Dec 2013
News

Faculty Books

Faculty Research HBS Working Knowledge offers a first look at new thinking from HBS faculty. Read the complete articles summarized below by visiting their web links. Unspoken Cues: Encouraging Morals without Mandates Associate Professor... View Details

10 Feb 2015
News

Harvard Opens Up Online Biz Program To Experienced Managers

Web

Timothy C. Draper | Baker Library | Bloomberg Center | Harvard Business School

International Robert Higgins Highland Capital Richard Jenrette Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Dean LeBaron Batterymarch Erling Lorentzen Aracruz Dan Lufkin Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Thomas Murphy Capital Cities/ABC Joseph O’Donnell... View Details

Web

Frank Batten | Baker Library | Bloomberg Center | Harvard Business School

International Robert Higgins Highland Capital Richard Jenrette Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Dean LeBaron Batterymarch Erling Lorentzen Aracruz Dan Lufkin Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Thomas Murphy Capital Cities/ABC Joseph O’Donnell... View Details

June 2008
Case

From xiaonei to hainei: The Quest for the Social Networking Service Market in China

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III, Michael Shih-Ta Chen and Keith Chi-ho Wong

Wang Xing, the founder of Hainei.com, one of the fastest growing social networking service (SNS) providers in China, was preparing to raise funds from venture capitalists. Since late 2003, Wang had established several Internet startups in China. Xiaonei.com, which he... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Social and Collaborative Networks; Competition; Internet; China

Find at Harvard

October 1998 (Revised November 2001)
Case

Boston Beer Company: Light Beer Decision

By: Linda A. Cyr, Joseph B. Lassiter III and Michael J. Roberts

Boston Beer's current light-beer offering, Boston Lightship, has not been successful, and a student team is charged with investigating the problem and recommending a strategy. Highlights issues around branding, target customer selection, and cannibalization, and... View Details

Keywords: Problems and Challenges; Brands and Branding; Customers; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Food and Beverage Industry; Boston