Publications

2014
Other Teaching and Training Material

Entrepreneurship Reading: Financing Entrepreneurial Ventures

By: William R. Kerr, Ramana Nanda and James McQuade

"Financing Entrepreneurial Ventures" introduces students to the key issues involved in the financing of entrepreneurial enterprises. The Reading begins by examining how business models shape external financing requirements. It then contrasts the choice to bootstrap... View Details

February 2021 (Revised October 2021)
Case

Collab Capital

By: Natalia Rigol, Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Mitchell Weiss

Founded in 2020 by Jewel Burks Solomon and her partners, Barry Givens and Justin Dawkins, Collab Capital was a new investment firm built on two pillars: first, it would identify and support ventures founded by Black entrepreneurs, a group underrepresented in... View Details

Keywords: Black Entrepreneurs; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Race; Business Startups; Financial Services Industry; Atlanta

May 2021
Article

Preparing for a Pandemic: Accelerating Vaccine Availability

By: Amrita Ahuja, Susan Athey, Arthur Baker, Eric Budish, Juan Camilo Castillo, Rachel Glennerster, Scott Duke Kominers, Michael Kremer, Jean Lee, Canice Prendergast, Christopher M. Snyder, Alex Tabarrok, Brandon Joel Tan and Witold Wiecek

Vaccinating the world’s population quickly in a pandemic has enormous health and economic benefits. We analyze the problem faced by governments in determining the scale and structure of procurement for vaccines. We analyze alternative approaches to procurement, arguing... View Details

Keywords: Vaccines; Procurement; Health Pandemics; Health Care and Treatment; Acquisition; Cooperation

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October 2013 (Revised May 2014)
Supplement

The TELUS Share Conversion Proposal, Spreadsheet Supplement

By: Lucy White and Benjamin C. Esty

A proxy battle between a Canadian firm and a US hedge fund over a proposal to unify the firm's dual class share structure. View Details

Keywords: Stock Shares; Capital Structure; Investment Funds; Telecommunications Industry; Canada; United States

29 Jul 2020
Working Paper Summaries

Two Case Studies on the Financing of Forest Conservation

Keywords: by Andrew Baxter, Connor Cash, Josh Lerner, and Ratnika Prasad

October 2008 (Revised November 2010)
Case

NEC Electronics

By: C. Fritz Foley, Robin Greenwood and James Quinn

Why do shares in NEC Electronics, a publicly listed subsidiary of Japan conglomerate NEC, trade at a discount to their fundamental value? Can Perry Capital, a U.S. hedge fund, restructure this subsidiary and generate significant returns? This case provides students... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Private Equity; Investment Return; Ownership Stake; Business and Shareholder Relations; Financial Services Industry; Japan

Paul Gompers, Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School, specializes in research on financial issues related to start-up, high growth, and newly public companies. Professor Gompers has an appointment in both the View Details

Keywords: investment banking industry; investment banking industry; investment banking industry; investment banking industry; investment banking industry; investment banking industry; investment banking industry; investment banking industry

August 2023
Case

WayCool: Reimagining the Food Supply Chain

By: Paul Gompers and Kairavi Dey

Founded in 2015, WayCool, is an Indian agri-tech start-up that built a B2B operation acquiring fruits and vegetables from product-specific agriculture companies and small-holding farmers. It sold them to business customers, such as local retail stores, restaurants, and... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Digital Transformation; Operations; Business Strategy; Supply Chain; Performance; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Technology Industry; Web Services Industry; Asia; South Asia

March 2003 (Revised June 2003)
Case

Risk Arbitrage: Abbott Labs and Alza (A)

By: George C. Chacko, Randolph B. Cohen, Marc Chennault and Andrew Kuhlman

A hedge fund is trying to decide whether to capitalize on a seeming risk arbitrage opportunity that exists during the Abbott Labs acquisition of ALZA. View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Mergers and Acquisitions; Investment Funds

03 Nov 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Adding Value Through Venture Capital in Latin America and the Caribbean

Keywords: by Josh Lerner, Ann Leamon, James Tighe & Susana Garcia-Robles; Financial Services

February 2009 (Revised March 2009)
Case

AFSCME vs. Mozilo...and "Say on Pay" for All! (A)

By: Fabrizio Ferri and James Weber

Union seeks to protect its pension funds through shareholder activism focused on corporate governance and executive compensation. The case uses Countrywide Financial as an example. Richard Ferlauto, director of pensions and benefits policy at the AFSCME, the largest... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Mortgages; Investment Activism; Investment Funds; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Executive Compensation; Labor Unions; Business and Shareholder Relations; United States

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Profile

Raja Bobbili

HBS opened the world of investing to me. The school’s investing courses exposed me to the practical challenges faced by investors. I experienced some of these challenges first-hand while getting my feet wet... View Details

Keywords: Investment Management / Hedge Fund

2015
Case

Advanced Leadership Pathways: Robert Whelan and the Student Loan Crisis (B)

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter, Grace Sza-Hua Chen and Ai-Ling Jamila Malone

Bob Whelan developed an idea with partners that was a seed before his fellowship year and addressed a significant national challenge - college financing - with a creative concept and experience from his years in investment banking. His nonprofit was called 13th Avenue... View Details

Keywords: Social Enterprise; Higher Education; Financing and Loans; Borrowing and Debt; Leading Change; Education Industry; Financial Services Industry

May 1996 (Revised November 1997)
Case

Northeast Ventures: January 1996

By: Josh Lerner and Eric K. Jackson

Northeast Ventures, a venture capital fund focusing on the development of northeastern Minnesota, seeks to combine social goals with financial returns. This marriage poses several challenges. View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Social Enterprise; Investment Funds; Minnesota

11 Dec 2017
Blog Post

3 Ways Financial Aid is Unique at HBS

When prospective students consider applying to an MBA program, funding the degree is usually top of mind. There's no getting around the fact that pursuing an MBA can be costly, but financial aid at HBS is designed to make the degree... View Details

Reza R. Satchu

Reza Satchu is a Senior Lecturer in the Entrepreneurship Management Unit at the Harvard Business School where he teaches The Entrepreneurial Manager, The Founder Mindset and Founder Launch. He is also the Founder, Managing Partner and majority shareholder of... View Details

March 2021
Case

Litigation Finance 2.0: LexShares

By: Lauren Cohen, Spencer C. N. Hagist and Yago Zavalia Gahan

Litigation finance—also referred to as third party litigation funding—was in its relative infancy as an asset class when Jay Greenberg and Max Volsky made a platform-play in the space. Seven years later, the market was far from "mainstream," but nonetheless had grown... View Details

Keywords: Finance; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; United States

2023
Working Paper

LALIGA—From a Soccer Competition Organizer to a Global Player in the Sports and Entertainment Industry

By: Stephen A. Greyser, Kenneth Cortsen and Juan Fuentes Fernández

LALIGA, the first- and second-tier professional soccer league (known as “football” outside of the U.S. and Canada) in Spain, enters its 100th soccer season later this decade. The most popular game in the world (Giulianotti, 2012) has gone through many changes since... View Details

Keywords: Soccer; ＂Sports Organizations,; Business History; Strategy; Brands and Branding; Technology Adoption; Sports Industry

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September 2008 (Revised September 2010)
Case

Ithmar Capital

By: Josh Lerner and Ann Leamon

The founders of Ithmar Capital, a mid-market private equity fund targeting businesses in and addressing the Gulf Co-operation Council countries, are about to raise their third fund, targeting $1 billion. The firm's current strategy as demonstrated in Funds I ($70... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Financial Management; Investment Funds; Investment Portfolio; Financial Services Industry