Publications

September 2017 (Revised March 2018)
Case

Chai Point: Disrupting Chai

By: Shikhar Ghosh, Ramana Nanda and Rachna Tahilyani

Chai Point is India’s largest organized chai retailer. It has missed its target for retail store openings by approximately 25%, goals that are very important to its investors who are also board members. However, it has developed an exciting new internet-based tea... View Details

Web

Questioning, Listening & Responding - Christensen Center for Teaching & Learning

important idea. Transcript Responding to Different Interpersonal Styles Ashish Nanda Professor Nanda talks about the art of responding in a way that energizes rather than silences the student. Transcript... View Details

March 2020 (Revised March 2022)
Case

Wachtell Lipton: Focused Excellence

By: Ashish Nanda and Margaret Cross

For years, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz—a small, New York City law firm—has consistently boasted the highest profits per partner and one of the highest “prestige” ratings among U.S.-based law firms. The firm has remained loyal to a distinctive strategy ever since its... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Law; Mergers and Acquisitions; Legal Services Industry; New York (city, NY)

October 2018
Case

Accomplice: Scaling Early Stage Finance

By: Ramana Nanda, Raffaella Sadun and Olivia Hull

Accomplice, an early-stage venture capital firm based in Boston, is raising its second fund in November 2017. Since 2009, the firm has followed a seed-led investment model, investing in tech companies at the earliest stages, often when products and business models are... View Details

Keywords: Early Stage Finance; Seed Finance; Scouts; Venture Capital; Business Startups; Private Equity; Investment Portfolio; Organizational Structure; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Partners and Partnerships; Networks; Adaptation; Corporate Strategy; Technology; Financial Services Industry; Massachusetts; Boston; Cambridge; United States

News

Financing high-potential entrepreneurship

01 Sep 2023
News

Research Brief: Making Way for Moonshots

Josh Krieger (Courtesy subject) Josh Krieger (Courtesy subject) Many innovations in modern medicine have come about due to cutting-edge drugs—advances that required both a scientific leap and a willingness to take risks. And while most pharmaceutical companies would... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint

Web

Courses - Private Capital Project

and real estate. The curriculum includes modules on alternative investments, various types of alternative investments and their characteristics, and methods for evaluating investment opportunities to enhance portfolio value. MBA Courses Entrepreneurial Finance... View Details

May 1990 (Revised July 1996)
Case

Ingvar Kamprad and IKEA

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Ashish Nanda

Traces the development of a Swedish furniture retailer under the leadership of an innovative and unconventional entrepreneur whose approaches redefine the nature and structure of the industry. Traces IKEA's growth from a tiny mail order business to the world's largest... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development; Innovation Strategy; Leadership; Management Succession; Distribution; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Expansion; Value; Retail Industry

February 1992 (Revised September 2019)
Case

The House of Tata

By: James E. Austin and Ashish Nanda

The case traces the evolution of the Tata group, one of the largest and highly respected Indian business houses, from its 19th century founding and early growth in diverse industries, to its response to changes in government regulation in independent India, up to its... View Details

Keywords: Indian Economy; International Business; Government And Business; Government Regulation; Synergy; Conglomerates; Business Conglomerates; Developing Countries and Economies; Business and Government Relations; Business History; Steel Industry; Electronics Industry; Chemical Industry; Insurance Industry; Air Transportation Industry; India

Web

Planning a Class Session - Christensen Center for Teaching & Learning

allow for a natural flow of ideas during a classroom discussion. Transcript Preparing to Teach Other's Cases Ashish Nanda Professor Nanda discusses how to go about teaching a case that was written View Details

Web

Podcast - Business & Environment

leaders Robert Litterman, a seasoned risk management expert; Nushin Kormi, a specialist in sustainable finance; and Kevin Stiroh, a financial regulator. The discussion, moderated by Professor Ramana Nanda,... View Details

Web

Entrepreneurship - Faculty & Research

Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship Article Entrepreneurship as Experimentation By: William R. Kerr , Ramana Nanda and Matthew Rhodes-Kropf Entrepreneurship research is on the rise, but many questions about... View Details

September 2005 (Revised September 2006)
Case

ICICI's Global Expansion

By: Tarun Khanna and Ramana Nanda

Follows the decision by ICICI (one of India's largest banks) to expand internationally in June 2001. View Details

Keywords: Emerging Markets; Global Strategy; Banks and Banking; Banking Industry; India

Web

Knowing Your Students - Christensen Center for Teaching & Learning

professional backgrounds of participants can improve an instructor's ability to provide a successful classroom experience. Transcript Study Student Profiles Ashish Nanda Professor Nanda shares how he... View Details

July 2001 (Revised August 2004)
Case

AdNet (A)

By: Ashish Nanda

Confronted by a business proposal that is remarkably similar to a project recently financed by a sister office, venture capitalist Monique LeMieux ponders what she should do. View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Ethics; Standards; Financial Services Industry

March 2014
Technical Note

Venture Capital Investment in the Clean Energy Sector

By: Ramana Nanda and Shikhar Ghosh

In this note, we examine the extent to which venture capital is adequately positioned for the rapid commercialization of clean energy technologies in the United States. The need for a revolution in clean energy is driven not just by environmental consequences of energy... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Finance; Entrepreneurship; Finance; Financial Services Industry

January 2021
Case

Egon Zehnder: Beyond Search?

By: Ashish Nanda and Margaret Cross

In 2019, Egon Zehnder chair Jill Ader and CEO Edilson Camara faced a critical question: how should the global executive search firm approach its burgeoning advisory service offering? Since 2003, the firm’s advisory practice had grown as a conglomeration of grassroots... View Details

Keywords: Professional Services Firms; Executive Search Firms; Professionalism; Partnership; Executive Coaching; Leadership Development; Expansion; Decision Making; Strategy; Switzerland; London

2008
Working Paper

Cost of External Finance and Selection into Entrepreneurship

By: Ramana Nanda

This paper examines the extent to which the positive relationship between personal wealth and entry into entrepreneurship is due to financing constraints. I exploit a tax reform and use unique micro-data from Denmark to study how exogenous changes in the cost of... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Cost; Financing and Loans; Personal Finance; Human Capital; Wealth; Denmark