Small Companies - Publications - Faculty & Research

22 May 2017
Lessons from the Classroom

A Luxury Industry Veteran Teaches the Importance of Aesthetics to Budding Business Leaders

healthy thirst for competition. Dubbed “Aesthetic Idol,” the project asks students to split into small groups and choose a true-life business challenge, and to come up with a solution that combines creative vision with a compelling... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Beauty & Cosmetics; Apparel & Accessories; Auto; Tourism

02 Jun 2016
Blog Post

Applying to the JD/MBA Program

pursue an MBA to gain both (1) substantive perspective on how to run companies and (2) qualitative perspective on how to lead. In the long term, the types of organizations I hope to help lead are those focused on impact, so I also decided... View Details

13 Apr 2009
Research & Ideas

Kind of Blue: Pushing Boundaries with Miles Davis

flat top of the S). “Miles Davis forced the musicians to approach the music without any expectations or preconceptions, often by giving them minimal sketches and sparse instructions."—Carl Størmer: Companies experience a lot of... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Music

01 Dec 2022
News

Singing to the Corn

his work. A paper he’d written, using game theory to explore the liberalization of telecoms, was the ticket to his first job at Metropolitan Fiber Systems; an early project involved analyzing the best stock exchange for the company to go... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; photographed by Vance Jacobs; Agriculture

Web

Career Support - Business & Environment

opportunities in roles or regions where compensation is generally lower than the traditional MBA level. Funding is available for students joining existing organizations or founding new ventures. HBS General Summer Fellows : Funds students joining large and View Details

Web

John H. McArthur | About

1959 Chapel were milestones of the McArthur deanship. Class of 1959 Chapel McArthur personally collaborated with architect Moshe Safdie on the design of the non-denominational chapel, which was a gift from the dean’s own MBA class. The View Details

01 Mar 2004
News

Derek Ferguson

through, we probably never would have done it!” When the magazine was sold three years later (the pair oversaw its publication while attending HBS), the subscription base numbered some 75,000 readers nationwide. Ferguson then moved on to Bain & View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries; Arts, Entertainment

Profile

Sebastian Velasco

Durango is a small town in Mexico, but that didn't stop Sebastian Velasco's mother from starting a paper and packaging manufacturing business there with her brothers. "She was one of the few women there who studied in college and... View Details

Keywords: Financial Services

27 Oct 2015
News

Sweet Success

trying to protect the forest,” he stresses. The company uses quarter-inch taps and marks the position of the tap on each tree every year to avoid re-tapping in the same place twice. “We adhere strictly to best practices for forestry,”... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg

02 Jan 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, January 3, 2018

if he develops product that can be monetized. O’Malley conducts tests in insurance cross-selling and small business lending, eventually launching a completely automated small business lending product. Rivers... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

21 Jan 2022
Blog Post

Tipping Point: Investing in the Women of Kenya’s Coffee Farms

middlemen in the industry. The company works directly with Kenyan coffee cooperatives to source coffee beans that Kahawa roasts in San Francisco. Kahawa originally sold its beans to Bay Area offices, but when most of the region’s office... View Details

01 Feb 1999
News

A Taste of Tradition

families now own only a small percentage of the company, one example of their continuing influence is a company "creed" adopted in 1926 and originally designed to promote internal family harmony. "It... View Details

Keywords: Judith A. Ross

17 Dec 2007
Research & Ideas

The Rise of Medical Tourism

to research and write this case? A: I came across the company during some of my travels in South India. It was so unusual to find "first-world health care at emerging-market prices" as the case says. Often better care—by which I... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Health; Medical Devices & Supplies

26 Jun 2023
Blog Post

ClimateCAP 2023 & ClimateCAP Fellowship

innovations. The Summit featured speakers from companies such as Closed Loop Partners, NextEra Energy, Energy Impact Partners, Dow, United Airlines, KKR, BlackRock, Google, Walmart, KPMG, and others. The interview below is a feature of... View Details

22 Nov 2004
Research & Ideas

Side Effects: The Case of Propecia

concerns," said an audience participant. Is a doctor really going to write a prescription for something as medically non-serious as hair loss if there is a chance, admittedly a small one, of sexual side effects? Propecia Hits The... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Health; Pharmaceutical

01 Mar 2018
News

Every Trick in the Book

bookstore; small, privately owned shops were the predominant model for bookselling throughout the United States in the early 1970s. That was the original model for Borders, which also opened in 1971 with a small stock of used books in a... View Details

Keywords: April White

25 Nov 2008
First Look

First Look: November 25, 2008

School Case 809-063 Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak are best friends who enjoy pulling pranks together and talking about electronics. After several small collaborations, Jobs pitches Wozniak on starting a View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

September 2019 (Revised May 2020)
Supplement

Keroche (E): Considering Additional Capacity

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Pippa Tubman Armerding

This case describes Keroche’s growth after entering the beer business in 2008. Although the company was operating at full capacity and not able to fulfill all of its orders, Tabitha Karanja had set a goal of growing Keroche’s share of the Kenyan beer market from... View Details

Citation

Purchase

Web

HBS - Financials | Supplemental Financial Information

each gift. Unrestricted Reserves (in millions) 145 FY17 118 FY18 129 FY19 174 FY20 211 FY21 Harvard is obligated to preserve the purchasing power of the endowment by spending only a small fraction of its value each year. Spending more... View Details

04 May 2011
Research & Ideas

Is Web Surfing Distracting Your Workers?

of the day—and that means they are spending energy to control themselves. If this theory is correct, it means they should be less productive." That effect could be more critical in jobs where small mistakes could mean a big... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

Publications