• October 2024 (Revised November 2024)
• Case

SWEN Blue Ocean: Impact Investing Goes to Sea

By: Vikram S Gandhi and David Allen

In August 2023, SWEN Blue Ocean, a €170 million impact fund that invested in startups contributing to ocean sustainability, faced a critical investment decision. Part of SWEN Capital Partners, an €8 billion, Paris-based private equity fund, Blue Ocean was co-founded in... View Details

Keywords: Communication Technology; Environmental Sustainability; Green Technology; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Investment Funds; Science-Based Business; Technological Innovation; Financial Services Industry; France; Paris; Italy

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Gandhi, Vikram S., and David Allen. "SWEN Blue Ocean: Impact Investing Goes to Sea." Harvard Business School Case 325-013, October 2024. (Revised November 2024.)

Cultural Entrepreneurship in NYC

During weeklong January-term trips to New York City in 2013 and 2014, students from across Harvard University studied cultural entrepreneurship: new ventures in fashion, food, fine arts, and design. Students explored how such ventures are launched, and how proximity... View Details

• December 2020
• Supplement

Video Interview with Pandwe Gibson

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Joyce J. Kim

Four diverse women entrepreneurs launched their ventures in a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem that was part of a shift to a creative technology-driven economy for Miami. Although Miami was rated the #1 U.S. city for startups in 2017, the region contained structural... View Details

Keywords: Female Entrepreneur; Entrepreneurial Ecosystems; Sexism; Racism; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Diversity; Gender; Race; Prejudice and Bias; City; Culture; Miami

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Kanter, Rosabeth M., and Joyce J. Kim. "Video Interview with Pandwe Gibson." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Supplement 321-704, December 2020.

• May 2012 (Revised October 2012)
• Case

H-Soft Mumbai

By: Ramana Nanda

Siddharth Kapoor, the Founder and CEO of H-Soft Mumbai reflected on his meeting as he walked out of VC Ventures' offices in Mumbai. After a few months of intensely pitching his startup to several different investors, he finally had a term sheet in hand. Despite this... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Finance; Venture Capital Term Sheet; India; Business Startups; Investment; Venture Capital; Contracts; Partners and Partnerships; Entrepreneurship; Negotiation Offer; Decision Making

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Nanda, Ramana. "H-Soft Mumbai." Harvard Business School Case 812-168, May 2012. (Revised October 2012.)

• December 2009 (Revised March 2025)
• Case

Phreesia: The Patient Intake Company

By: Regina E. Herzlinger, Sunaina Yarlagadda and Brian L. Walker

How should the co-founders of an organization that provides patient sign-in and billing services scale their company after five years of successfully targeting small private physician practices? Phreesia had deployed a direct mail and sales force strategy that resulted... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Social Entrepreneurship; Revenue; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry

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Herzlinger, Regina E., Sunaina Yarlagadda, and Brian L. Walker. "Phreesia: The Patient Intake Company." Harvard Business School Case 310-066, December 2009. (Revised March 2025.)

• September 2022
• Background Note

On CUE: The Quest for Optimal Customer Unit Economics

By: Elie Ofek, Barak Libai and Eitan Muller

Startups are often evaluated by how well they perform on unit economics, defined as the ratio of a customer’s lifetime value (LTV) to acquisition costs (CAC). A common target for unit economics, advocated by many VCs and analysts, is 3:1 (i.e., LTV/CAC=3). While there... View Details

Keywords: Unit Economics; Business Startups; Performance Evaluation; Customer Value and Value Chain; Customer Relationship Management; Analysis

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Ofek, Elie, Barak Libai, and Eitan Muller. "On CUE: The Quest for Optimal Customer Unit Economics." Harvard Business School Background Note 523-050, September 2022.

• April 2019 (Revised June 2019)
• Case

Voatz

By: Mitchell Weiss and Maddy Halyard

Nimit Sawhney scrolled through the tweet stream on his phone, unsure of what to make of it on August 6, 2018 or how to respond. Voatz, the Boston-based startup he co-founded and led, provided a mobile-voting platform. In March of 2018, had successfully piloted the new... View Details

Keywords: Mobile App; Business Startups; Voting; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Safety; Cybersecurity

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Weiss, Mitchell, and Maddy Halyard. "Voatz." Harvard Business School Case 819-123, April 2019. (Revised June 2019.)

• Web

Finding Job Opportunities - Alumni

career opportunities. Idealist Idealist is a job board with a focus on social enterprise. Job postings are frequently mission-driven with an emphasis on collaboration. AngelList Interested in working for a startup? AngelList is a website for View Details

• 30 Jan 2024
• Research & Ideas

‘Intrinsic Joy’ Sparks Ideas Better than Cash

and producing things for everyone else.” You Might Also Like: University of the Future: Finding the Next World Leaders in Higher Ed The Best Person to Lead Your Company Doesn't Work There—Yet Why a Failed Startup Might Be Good for Your... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Technology

• 02 Feb 2016
• First Look

February 2, 2016

https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/716035-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 816-015 Rubicon Global The case describes Rubicon Global, a startup that aimed to disrupt the waste management industry. The company started with a bold... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

• February 2016 (Revised May 2016)
• Case

Blue Origin, NASA, and New Space (A)

By: Matthew Weinzierl and Angela Acocella

Jeff Bezos, six years after starting a revolution in retailing with Amazon.com, turned his life-long passion for space into a start-up, Blue Origin. Blue (as it was called) was a part of the New Space industry, a collection of startup aerospace engineering companies... View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Partners and Partnerships; Transportation; Business Startups; Government and Politics; Business and Government Relations; Aerospace Industry

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Weinzierl, Matthew, and Angela Acocella. "Blue Origin, NASA, and New Space (A)." Harvard Business School Case 716-012, February 2016. (Revised May 2016.)

• 20 Jan 2015
• First Look

First Look: January 20

  Publications January 2015 Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization Prosocial Norms in the Classroom: The Role of Self-regulation in Following Norms of Giving By: Blake, P.R., M. Piovesan, N. Montinari, F. Werneken, and F. Gino Abstract—Children who are... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

• January 2025
• Supplement

The VideaHealth AI Factory: CEO Florian Hillen on Speed, Scale, and Innovation (B)

By: Tsedal Neeley, Levi Stroud, Ruth Page and Dave Habeeb

Pre-abstract: This multimedia case should be assigned to students in advance of class. Instructors should consider the timing of making the (B) Case videos available to students, as they may reveal key case details. Abstract: Florian Hillen, co-founder and CEO of... View Details

Keywords: AI; Adoption; Diagnostics; Organization Design; Change Management; Disruption; Transformation; Health Care and Treatment; AI and Machine Learning; Technology Adoption; Disruptive Innovation; Technological Innovation; Management Style; Organizational Culture; Success; Technology Industry; Health Industry; United States

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Neeley, Tsedal, Levi Stroud, Ruth Page, and Dave Habeeb. "The VideaHealth AI Factory: CEO Florian Hillen on Speed, Scale, and Innovation (B)." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Supplement 425-721, January 2025.

• January 2025
• Case

The VideaHealth AI Factory: CEO Florian Hillen on Speed, Scale, and Innovation (A)

By: Tsedal Neeley, Levi Stroud, Ruth Page and Dave Habeeb

Pre-abstract: This multimedia case should be assigned to students in advance of class. Instructors should consider the timing of making the (B) Case videos available to students, as they may reveal key case details. Abstract: Florian Hillen, co-founder and CEO of... View Details

Keywords: AI; Adoption; Diagnostics; Organization Design; Change Management; Disruption; Transformation; Health Care and Treatment; AI and Machine Learning; Technology Adoption; Disruptive Innovation; Technological Innovation; Management Style; Organizational Culture; Success; Technology Industry; Health Industry; United States

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Neeley, Tsedal, Levi Stroud, Ruth Page, and Dave Habeeb. "The VideaHealth AI Factory: CEO Florian Hillen on Speed, Scale, and Innovation (A)." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Case 425-720, January 2025.