Publications

06 May 2014
First Look

First Look: May 6

transmitting information from equity to debt holders. This provides a novel argument as to why information contained in stock prices affects the real value of a corporation. It also allows us to make empirical predictions regarding the relation between shareholder... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

14 Nov 2005
Research & Ideas

How Can Start Ups Grow?

high levels of entrepreneurial activity, which in turn gave me a large enough sample to work with. Second, it is not an industry where venture capital activity is very high, making it a good setting to study... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Advertising

15 Jul 2014
First Look

First Look: July 15

tied to their competitors via shared intermediary organizations. To test our theory, we examine every relationship between entrepreneurial firms and their venture capital investors in the minimally invasive... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

23 Jul 2013
First Look

First Look: July 23

venture capital firms, offering to invest Rs 200 million in return for an equity stake in the company. His dream of transforming Getit from a regional print company into a digital company with broad... View Details

Keywords: Anna Secino

February 2004 (Revised May 2005)
Case

In-Q-Tel

By: Josh Lerner, G. Felda Hardymon, Kevin Book and Ann Leamon

The Central Intelligence Agency establishes a venture-enabled fund, In-Q-Tel, to allow it to access cutting-edge technologies. Fund managers face a variety of difficulties, some similar to those facing other institutionally affiliated venture funds and some unique. View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Venture Capital; Investment Funds; Problems and Challenges; Government Administration; Public Administration Industry; United States

February 2012 (Revised November 2012)
Case

Bain Capital: Outback Steakhouse

By: Paul Gompers, Kristin Mugford and J. Daniel Kim

Bain Capital had purchased Outback Steakhouse in 2007 and despite the myriad initiatives to improve operations, the financial collapse in 2008 threatened the company's ability to meet its loan covenants. Outback's performance steadily declined throughout the year. How... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Performance Expectations; Borrowing and Debt; Financial Services Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

November 2018 (Revised June 2022)
Teaching Note

AirFox (A): Embracing the Blockchain and an ICO

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Nathaniel Schwalb

Teaching Note for HBS No. 818-097. In summer 2017, Victor Santos, CEO of AirFox, considered whether to pivot his startup towards a new product built with blockchain—a quickly growing technology at the time. AirFox was an early stage startup that sold... View Details

Keywords: Blockchain; Cryptocurrency; Initial Coin Offering; ICO; Business Startups; Finance; Currency; Strategy; Decision Making; United States

September 2022 (Revised September 2024)
Case

Esas Group: Investing Together, Staying Together

By: Christina R. Wing and Alpana Thapar

This case opens in June 2022, after Esas Group, one of Turkey’s largest family-owned investment firms, implements a series of changes to professionalize the business and help transition family members from operators to responsible investors. In December 2019, the Group... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Transition; Business or Company Management; Organizational Structure; Governing and Advisory Boards; Governance; Financial Services Industry; Turkey

9 AM – 10 AM EDT, 30 Oct 2019
HBS Online

HBS Online Entrepreneurship Essentials

Master a proven framework for building and financing new ventures and learn to speak the language of the start-up world. Program Dates: October 30, 2019 - December 27, 2019 View Details

9 AM – 10 AM EDT, 12 Jun 2019
HBS Online

HBS Online Entrepreneurship Essentials

Master a proven framework for building and financing new ventures and learn to speak the language of the start-up world. Program Dates: June 12, 2019 - July 10, 2019 View Details

9 AM – 9 AM EST, 14 Nov 2018

HBX Entrepreneurship Essentials

Master a proven framework for building and financing new ventures and learn to speak the language of the start-up world. Program Dates: November 14, 2018 - December 12, 2018 View Details

August 2022
Supplement

Sweet Teez Bakery: Projecting the Dough’s Rise Financial Supplement

By: Emily R. McComb, Mel Martin and Amy Klopfenstein

Abstract: In 2021, the HBS Impact Investment Fund student team met with entrepreneur Teresa Maynard, who had applied for a $25,000 impact investment loan. The students thought the former Harvard Data Scientist’s bakery business, Sweet Teez Bakery, showed promise.... View Details

Keywords: Impact Investment; Entrepreneurship; Social Entrepreneurship; Finance; Investment; Goods and Commodities; Financial Reporting; Small Business; Food and Beverage Industry; Massachusetts; United States

9 AM – 10 AM EDT, 21 Aug 2019
HBS Online

HBS Online Entrepreneurship Essentials

Master a proven framework for building and financing new ventures and learn to speak the language of the start-up world. Program Dates: August 21, 2019 - September 18, 2019 View Details

9 AM – 10 AM EST, 23 Jan 2019
HBS Online

HBS Online Entrepreneurship Essentials

Master a proven framework for building and financing new ventures and learn to speak the language of the start-up world. Program Dates: January 23, 2019 - February 20, 2019 View Details

March 2015
Case

Pearson Affordable Learning Fund

By: Michael Chu, Vincent Dessain and Kristina Maslauskaite

An in-house venture capital fund for affordable private schools at the base of the pyramid established by Pearson, the world's largest education company, PALF sought to invest in business models providing superior educational outcomes in emerging markets on a... View Details

Keywords: Impact Investment; Low Cost Private Schools; Investment Fund; Business At The Base Of The Pyramid; Transition; Investment; Development Economics; Business Growth and Maturation; Social Entrepreneurship; Emerging Markets; Private Sector; Education; Education Industry; Asia; Africa

September–October 2015
Article

Crash and Burn: Why Silicon Valley's Notion That Failure Leads to Success Won't Work for the Rest of the World

By: Debora L. Spar

In the frenzied hills of Silicon Valley, going bust is common. Research attests that close to half of start-ups supported by venture capital chew through most or all of their backers' money and that the majority never achieve their projected returns on investment. But... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Failure; Learning; Situation or Environment

Find at Harvard

August 2022 (Revised November 2024)
Case

Sweet Teez Bakery: Projecting the Dough's Rise

By: Emily R. McComb, Mel Martin and Amy Klopfenstein

In 2021, the HBS Impact Investment Fund student team met with entrepreneur Teresa Maynard, who had applied for a $25,000 impact investment loan. The students thought the former Harvard Data Scientist’s bakery business, Sweet Teez Bakery, showed promise. Maynard had... View Details

Keywords: Impact Investment; Entrepreneurship; Social Entrepreneurship; Finance; Investment; Goods and Commodities; Financial Reporting; Small Business; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; Massachusetts