Publications

SSRN

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November 2012 (Revised December 2017)
Case

TerraPower

By: William A. Sahlman, Ramana Nanda, Joseph B. Lassiter III and James McQuade

John Gilleland, CEO of TerraPower, returned to his office after a lengthy meeting with potential investors. It was October 2012, and TerraPower was in the process of raising a $200M Series C round to finance the ongoing development of its next-generation nuclear... View Details

Keywords: Nuclear Power; Entrepreneurial Finance; Financing and Loans; Venture Capital; Energy Industry; United States; China; India

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Entrepreneurial Management Curriculum - Faculty & Research

Q3Q4 3.0 Data for Impact: Impact Measurement from Startup to Fortune 500 C-Suite Benjamin N. Roth , Natalia Rigol Spring 2025 Q3Q4 3.0 Entrepreneurial Finance (also listed under Finance) Raymond Kluender... View Details

March 2015
Background Note

Equity Compensation in Startup Ventures

By: Ramana Nanda, Robert White and Stephanie Puzio

Setting equitable and "market" level compensation for founders and early employees of startups is one of the most important elements of a new venture. It is not only central to attract and retain the best human capital for the startup, but is critical to align... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Finance; Equity; Finance; Entrepreneurship

November 2016 (Revised May 2017)
Case

Hyperloop One

By: William A. Sahlman, Ramana Nanda, Robert White, Allison Ciechanover and Jeff Huizinga

This case explores the attempt of Shervin Pishevar, a prominent Silicon Valley investor, to shepherd hyperloop, a futuristic pod-in-tube transportation technology, from concept to transformative reality via Hyperloop One and Sherpa Capital, both companies he... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Finance; Startup; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Finance; Transportation; Product Development; Innovation and Invention; Transportation Industry

January 2018 (Revised January 2019)
Case

Panoramic Power

By: Paul Gompers and Silpa Kovvali

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Finance; Entrepreneurial Ventures; Energy Management; Energy; Israel

09 Jun 2003
Research & Ideas

Around the World of Entrepreneurial Ventures

complexity that is astonishing, said Sahlman. The International Context According to Kuemmerle, there is one central question guiding his IEF research: how do entrepreneurial managers, and those who finance... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

Teaching Interest

HBS Startup Bootcamp

By: Martin A. Sinozich

The Startup Bootcamp is an immersion program for first-year HBS MBA candidates that uses a leaning-by-doing approach to build skills required as an early stage entrepreneur. View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneur; Entrepreneurship; Entrepreneurial Ventures; Entrepreneurial Journey; Entrepreneurial Financing

16 Mar 2018
News

Enabling The Pursuit of Entrepreneurial Dreams

AwesomenessTV was sold to NBCUniversal, the timing was right. “I was wearing many hats at the studio — from business development to finance to marketing and operations. I learned a lot on the job, but thought an HBS education would... View Details

2004
Case

Neology: Embedded Opportunities in the RFID Space (A)

By: Roberto Charvel and Atul Joshi

Neology was a pioneer in the RFID industry that was able to attract U.S. Army contracts and secure financing by creating a holding company in the U.S., while being a Mexican company. View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Finance; Venture Capital; Emerging Market; Business Startups; Innovation and Invention; Technology

April 2011
Case

The Sandbox: Creating a Bottom-Up Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

By: Shikhar Ghosh, Lynda M. Applegate, Rhea Ghosh and Amar Kumar

Discussion of new model of Social Enterprise that applies the venture capital model to social enterprise. View Details

Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship; Non-Governmental Organizations; Venture Capital; Business Model

Web

Finance Faculty - Faculty & Research

Finance Overview Faculty Curriculum Seminars & Conferences Awards & Honors Doctoral Students Unit Head Victoria Ivashina Lovett-Learned Professor of Business Administration Anne and James F. Rothenberg Faculty Fellow Unit Head, View Details

Web

Finance Curriculum - Faculty & Research

Value Through Corporate Restructuring Stuart C. Gilson Spring 2025 Q3Q4 3.0 Deal Making in Real Estate Dan Gilbane , Christopher Graham Spring 2025 Q4 1.5 Entrepreneurial Finance (also listed under View Details

31 Aug 2020
Blog Post

Five Important Steps before Taking the Entrepreneurial Leap

research and development process, manufacturing and clinical research strategy as well as offline retail. Hilary has a finance, consumer products and retail background, notably as brand manager of FIJI Water. Most recently, Hilary led strategy and View Details

Article

Private Equity, el socio silencioso

By: Roberto Charvel

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Finance; Capital Markets; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Financial Services Industry; Latin America

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December 2000 (Revised April 2006)
Case

Promise (A): Building a Consumer Finance Company in Japan

Describes Promise, the third-largest consumer finance company in Japan. Promise was created in 1963 by an entrepreneur and has grown rapidly, especially in the 1990s when commercial banks struggled. Promise's core business consists of providing unsecured loans of up to... View Details

Keywords: Capital Structure; Entrepreneurship; Financial Institutions; Financial Services Industry; Japan

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January 2002 (Revised December 2002)
Background Note

A Note on the Value of Information in an Entrepreneurial Venture

By: Paul W. Marshall

Uses a decision analysis framework to analyze the value of gaming information before making a full investment in an entrepreneurial venture. View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Entrepreneurship; Investment; Framework; Business or Company Management