Publications

February 2023
Case

Kapor Capital

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Lindsay N. Hyde and Julia Kelley

Kapor Capital, a leading impact investment venture capital (VC) firm, is on the cusp of a generational transition. The two rising managing directors are about to take over the firm from the VC’s eponymous founders. How should they think about strategy, brand, and... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Operations; Business Startups; Financial Services Industry; United States

12 May 2020
Blog Post

Leaving a Career in Tech for Venture Capital and Entrepreneurship

program at HBS. I was particularly drawn to HBS after hearing about the experience of my friends who had not only found a supportive entrepreneurial community at HBS, but co-founders as well. I spoke with alumni who were part of the View Details

August 2022 (Revised November 2022)
Case

Altos Ventures (A)

By: Jo Tango and Alys Ferragamo

In December 2012, Altos Ventures General Partners Han Kim, Anthony Lee, and Ho Nam met to discuss the future of the firm. Altos had already adjusted its strategy multiple times. It began as a U.S.-focused venture capital investor whose first two funds were backed by a... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Venture Capital; Investment Portfolio; Partners and Partnerships

July 2004 (Revised December 2004)
Case

How Venture Capitalists Evaluate Potential Venture Opportunities

By: Michael J. Roberts and Lauren Barley

Four venture capitalists from leading Silicon Valley firms are interviewed about the frameworks they use to evaluate potential venture opportunities. Questions include: How do you evaluate the venture's prospective business model? What due diligence do you conduct?... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Opportunities; Framework; Entrepreneurship; Forecasting and Prediction

24 Apr 2014
News

A founding father of Silicon Valley venture capital guides entrepreneurs

Throughout his long career as a venture capitalist, Franklin “Pitch” Johnson (MBA 1952) has worked primarily in the biotech industry, earning a reputation as a thoughtful investor, trusted adviser, and generous philanthropist. In 1962,... View Details

August 2007 (Revised February 2008)
Case

Pinnacle Ventures

By: Michael J. Roberts, William A. Sahlman and Elizabeth Kind

Describes a prospective "venture debt" loan to a new venture from the perspective of Patrick Lee, a principal at Pinnacle Ventures. Forces students to grapple with the nature of financial risk in the start-up firm and assess the prospective risks and returns to a... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Venture Capital; Investment Return; Business Startups; Financial Services Industry

2002
Dissertation

The Venture Capitalist as Entrepreneur: Characteristics and Dynamics within VC Firms

By: Noam Wasserman

Keywords: Venture Capital; Corporate Entrepreneurship

August 2020 (Revised November 2024)
Case

NextView Ventures

By: Jo Tango and Nori Gerardo Lietz

David Beisel, Rob Go, and Lee Hower are non-partners at different-and-established venture capital (VC) firms. They decide to leave their positions to start a new seed-stage VC firm. The case covers the genesis of the firm, the formulation of its strategy and... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Business Startups; Strategy

24 Jul 2000
Research & Ideas

Something Ventured, Something Gained: A European View of Venture Capital

Venture capital is a tale of two continents, HBS professor Josh Lerner (coauthor of the book The Venture Capital Cycle) explained in his opening... View Details

Keywords: by James E. Aisner; Financial Services

June 2025
Case

Bessemer Venture Partners (2025)

By: Jo Tango and Srimayi Mylavarapu

Bessemer Venture Partners, one of the oldest venture capital firms in the United States, had long been known for its decentralized culture and thesis-driven investing. An internal debate had surfaced around the firm’s approach to seed-stage investing. With competitors... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital

March 2023 (Revised January 2025)
Case

Wilshire Lane Capital

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Lindsay N. Hyde and Stacy Straaberg

In September 2021, Adam Demuyakor (MBA 2017) was faced with decisions about how to launch his venture capital (VC) investment firm. His previous investment activities were a series of angel investments and special purpose vehicles alongside two part-time general... View Details

Keywords: Ownership Stake; Investment Funds; Venture Capital; Business and Shareholder Relations; Real Estate Industry; Technology Industry; Los Angeles; California; United States

07 Jun 2020
Working Paper Summaries

Financial Distancing: How Venture Capital Follows the Economy Down and Curtails Innovation

Keywords: by Sabrina T. Howell, Josh Lerner, Ramana Nanda, and Richard Townsend; Financial Services

October 2012
Teaching Plan

Vertex Pharmaceuticals and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation: Venture Philanthropy Funding for Biotech (TP)

By: Robert F. Higgins

This is the teaching note related to HBS case 808005. In 2001, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated acquired the San Diego-based biotech company, Aurora Biosciences. The combination of Vertex's and Aurora's technologies would improve the flow of novel drug candidates... View Details

Keywords: Venture Philanthropy; Biotechnology; Funding Philanthropy Venture; Cystic Fibrosis; Foundations; Pharmaceuticals; Mergers and Acquisitions; For-Profit Firms; Venture Capital; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Science-Based Business; Nonprofit Organizations; Pharmaceutical Industry; Biotechnology Industry; United States; San Diego

March 2017
Article

Entrepreneurial Beacons: The Yale Endowment, Run-ups, and the Growth of Venture Capital

By: Y. Sekou Bermiss, Benjamin J. Hallen, Rory McDonald and Emily Cox Pahnke

This paper investigates the social context of entrepreneurship in organizational sectors. Prior research suggests that firm foundings are driven by collective patterns of activity—that is, by patterns of prior foundings—including support from related markets as well as... View Details

Keywords: Signals; Social Salience; Venture Capital; Higher Education; Organizations; Entrepreneurship; Investment

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17 Apr 2014
News

York Street Partners, Busbud Take Top Honors in Alumni New Venture Competition

(MBA 2005), Nayana Mawilmada (MBA 2005) and Jayamin Pelpola (MBA 2010). The firm hopes to capitalize on the current development drive and rapid economic growth taking place in Sri Lanka. Based in Colombo,... View Details

Keywords: New Venture Competition; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments; Finance; News, Library, Internet, and Other Services; Information

February 2009 (Revised March 2013)
Case

Shanghai Diligence Law Firm (A)

By: Robert G. Eccles and Catherine Zhang

Shanghai Diligence Law Firm, started in January 2006, is a rapidly growing law firm in China's burgeoning legal services market. In addition to the usual challenges facing all professional service firms (picking and retaining talent and building a desired client... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Compensation and Benefits; Retention; Growth and Development Strategy; Service Operations; Motivation and Incentives; Legal Services Industry; China

August 2007
Case

Lightspeed Venture Partners -- International Expansion

By: Krishna G. Palepu and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld

Looks at various international expansion models for a venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley. Lightspeed Venture Partners believed that India had tremendous potential for venture capital returns--the question was how best to tap into that potential while also... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Expansion; Investment Return; Global Strategy; Emerging Markets; Investment; International Finance; Organizational Structure; India; Israel