Publications

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November 1999 (Revised February 2000)
Case

Granny's Goodies, Inc.

By: Das Narayandas and Katherine B. Korman

The young entrepreneurs of Granny's Goodies, Inc., a corporate gift package specialist, face the challenge of finding ways to create consistent revenue streams and reduce sales costs. Outside of a few long-term contracts, the two founders have had to work very hard for... View Details

Keywords: Budgets and Budgeting; Customer Relationship Management; Entrepreneurship; Cost Management; Marketing Strategy; Product Design; Problems and Challenges; Sales; Segmentation; Service Industry

May 1999 (Revised March 2008)
Case

Husky Injection Molding Systems

By: Jan W. Rivkin

Husky, a Canadian maker of injection molding systems, has established an enviable position in the market for plastics processing equipment. The company builds the highest performance systems in the business and charges a hefty premium for them. Husky is enjoying robust... View Details

Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Rank and Position; Competition; Expansion; Industrial Products Industry; Canada

07 Jul 2015
News

Can Artists and Labels Change Behavior With Technology?

Archie L. Jones

Archie Jones is a Senior Lecturer in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at the Harvard Business School, where he currently teaches Venture Capital and Private Equity, Field... View Details

August 2023
Case

Tenkara Outfitters

By: Christina Wallace, Jo Tango and Johnson Elugbadebo

After taking over from their parents, Sebastian Maxwell and Alexandra Ito, CEO and COO of Minnesota-based outdoor adventure brand Tenkara, must decide how they want to resource and grow this formerly family-run business. After outdoor activities exploded during the... View Details

Keywords: General Management; Innovation; Entrepreneurship; Innovation and Management; Family Business; Entrepreneurial Finance; Business Growth and Maturation

December 2010 (Revised November 2014)
Case

Steven Carpenter at Cake Financial

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld

After investing $9 million of venture capital, Cake Financial had failed to reach critical mass. In early 2010 Cake's assets were sold and the company was dissolved. Founded in 2006, the San Francisco-based Internet company allowed users to monitor their investments... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business or Company Management; Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Internet; Financial Services Industry; Web Services Industry

June 2008 (Revised September 2019)
Case

Yataro Iwasaki: Founding Mitsubishi (A)

By: Geoffrey Jones, Masako Egawa and Mayuka Yamazaki

Considers the entrepreneurial career of the founder of Mitsubishi, Yataro Iwasaki, who built a large shipping company against the opposition of powerful Western incumbents. Although sometimes supported by the Japanese government, and often times opposed, the case... View Details

Keywords: History; Leadership; Business History; Organizational Structure; Entrepreneurship; Business and Government Relations; Japan

September 2005 (Revised August 2008)
Case

Philip McCrea: Once an Entrepreneur...(A)

By: William W. George and Andrew N. McLean

In the spring of 2005, an exhausted Philip McCrea, president and CEO of software development company VitesseLearning, reflects on the demands of his successful start-up and his desire to be closer to his growing family. Profiles the youth, career, family life,... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Personal Development and Career; Family and Family Relationships; Opportunities; Motivation and Incentives

19 Mar 2013
News

3 Traits That Can Make or Break a Businessperson

22 Nov 2022
News

Why Startups Should Embrace Radical Transparency

2013
Working Paper

How the Zebra Got Its Stripes: Imprinting of Individuals and Hybrid Social Ventures

By: Matthew Lee and Julie Battilana

Hybrid organizations that combine multiple, existing organizational forms are frequently proposed as a source of organizational innovation, yet little is known about the origins of such organizations. We propose that individual founders of hybrid organizations acquire... View Details

Keywords: Hybrid Organizations; Imprinting; Institutional Theory; Social Entrepreneurship; Organizations

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July 2005
Case

Harvard Business School and the Making of a New Profession

By: Rakesh Khurana, Tarun Khanna and Daniel Penrice

Since its founding in 1908, Harvard Business School's mission has been to perform a much-needed service for American society by turning business management into a profession. One of the most important factors in the founding of HBS and the nation's other new business... View Details

Keywords: Business Education; Mission and Purpose; Alignment; Social Issues; Practice

Web

Live from Klarman Hall - Alumni

Feinzaig (MBA 2007) , Founder and General Partner, Graham and Walker Venture Fund; Michelle Zatlyn (MBA 2009) , Co-Founder and COO, Cloudflare Video Recording Challenging Conventional Wisdom: What and How HBS Alumnae are Doing 3:30–4:00... View Details

September 2017 (Revised March 2023)
Case

Careem: Raising a Unicorn

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Alpana Thapar

This case follows two ex-McKinsey consultants, Magnus Olsson and Mudassir Sheikha, who in search of their true purpose decide to found Careem, a Dubai-based ride-hailing service. Following its launch in July 2012, Careem experiences rapid growth of 30% per month in the... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Information Technology; Organizational Culture; Decision Making; Growth Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Transportation Industry; Technology Industry; Middle East; North Africa; United Arab Emirates

November 2016 (Revised October 2018)
Case

IguanaFix

By: Frank V. Cespedes, Thomas R. Eisenmann, Maria Fernanda Miguel and Laura Urdapilleta

IguanaFix is a rapidly scaling Latin American startup that provides an online platform connecting consumers with home improvement contractors. The founders have acquired customers through both B2C and B2B methods. But in seeking to grow and scale the business, they now... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Marketing; Home Improvement Services; Marketing Management; Scaling; Entrepreneurship; Marketing; Sales; Online Advertising; Latin America

April 2011
Case

Hermitage's Russian Quandary (A)

By: Eric Werker, Ray Fisman and Lauren Weber

In June 2007, the offices of Russian hedge fund Hermitage Capital were raided by Moscow police; in the months that followed, Hermitage founder Bill Browder found himself banned from Russia and fending off efforts to expropriate the fund's Russian assets. This case... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Private Equity; Investment; Law Enforcement; Laws and Statutes; Crisis Management; Risk Management; Business and Government Relations; Financial Services Industry; Moscow

April 2006 (Revised August 2007)
Case

CircleLending, Inc. 2006

CircleLending, an innovative start-up, offered individuals the ability to set up and manage informal loans made between relatives and friends. The company must decide which market segment to focus on and then how much money to raise from investors. CircleLending is a... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Financing and Loans; Personal Finance; Innovation and Invention; Growth and Development Strategy; Markets; Social and Collaborative Networks