Publications

31 Oct 2017
First Look

New Research and Ideas, October 31, 2017

investing in unicorns—highly valued, privately held start-ups—and the consequences of these investments for corporate governance provisions. Larger funds and those with more stable View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

January 2004 (Revised May 2005)
Case

Gold Hill Venture Lending

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

David Fischer is trying to raise $200 million for a first-time venture debt fund that will be affiliated with Silicon Valley Bank, a major technology lender. Despite his lengthy experience in venture lending, the process is proving difficult. He and his partners are... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Value Creation; Venture Capital; Partners and Partnerships; Decision Choices and Conditions; Investment Funds; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry

October 2018 (Revised September 2022)
Case

Stock-Based Compensation at Twitter

By: Jonas Heese, Zeya Yang and Mike Young

Olivia Nash, an analyst at leading hedge fund BlueShark Capital Management, had just finished listening to the hour-long earnings call for Twitter’s Q4 2017 results. Was Twitter doing well? That depended on which numbers she chose to believe. According to Generally... View Details

Keywords: Twitter; Non-GAAP Disclosure; Stock-based Compensation; Earnings Management; Corporate Disclosure; Compensation and Benefits; Stocks; Measurement and Metrics

July 2007 (Revised November 2009)
Case

Greenpeace

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Jordan Mitchell

Nearly all environmental organizations have a similar aim: to stop the degradation of the natural environment. However, the strategies which environmental organizations choose to employ are sometimes starkly different. Compares the models of two dissimilar... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Environmental Sustainability; Non-Governmental Organizations; Business Strategy

01 Mar 2014
News

Faculty Q&A: The Future of Foreign Aid

Eric Werker You spent much of 2009 to 2011 in Liberia advising President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf while on leave from HBS. What did you learn from that experience? Good ideas and great strategies are cheap and easy; what's expensive and... View Details

Keywords: foreign aid; Government

01 Aug 2016
Blog Post

Reflecting on the Value of an MBA

You get a lot of good advice at HBS. I’ve kept pretty much every single sheet of paper I’ve received while I’ve been here, trying to retain it for later. One sticks with me now as I head back into the world... View Details

18 Apr 2022
Video

Uche Orji

Uche Orji, CEO and Managing Director of the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority, discusses how he approached the sovereign wealth fund as an entrepreneurial venture when bureaucratic processes delayed the transfer of capital for 9 months. View Details

October 2020 (Revised December 2020)
Case

Investing at Pivotal Ventures

By: Emil N. Siriwardane, Emily R. McComb and Eren Kuzucu

Launched in 2015 by Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Pivotal Ventures is an investment and incubation company. The company aims to support and promote transformational ideas, people and organizations, and advance social progress for women... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Management; Mission and Purpose; Venture Capital

September 1960 (Revised August 1983)
Background Note

Note on Financial Analysis

Serves as an introduction to funds flows and ratio analysis. Includes basic discussion of these tools as assists in the analyst's or manager's job. Supplementary material includes problem set and answers. View Details

Keywords: Analysis; Investment

04 Jan 2021
Blog Post

Bringing the Lessons of 2020 into 2021

Unconscious Bias in Recruiting Creating Inclusive Recruiting Events in a Time of Innovation Actions Organizations Can Take to Communicate their Commitment to Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging How to Create a Psychologically Safe... View Details

Keywords: All Industries

29 Dec 2014
Research & Ideas

Most Popular Articles and Research Papers of 2014

Quinoa-Häagen-Dazs connection? Venture Investors Prefer Funding Handsome Men Studies by Alison Wood Brooks and colleagues reveal that investors prefer pitches from male entrepreneurs over those from female entrepreneurs, even when the... View Details

March 2010 (Revised June 2010)
Case

Malden Mills (A) (Abridged)

By: Nitin Nohria and Thomas R. Piper

CEO Aaron Feuerstein of Malden Mills decided to pay idled workers after a massive fire at his mill in 1995. Focuses on the decisions made post-fire and the rebuilding process and eventual bankruptcy of the company. Also outlines creditors' struggle to decide whether to... View Details

Keywords: Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Financing and Loans; Employees; Leadership; Crisis Management; Social Issues; Manufacturing Industry; Massachusetts

April 1999
Case

General Property Trust

By: Peter Tufano

In 1994 General Property Trust, an Australian property investment trust, was anticipating future cash needs beyond those that the Trust could fund with internal cash flows. The managers of the Trust were considering a novel financing structure whereby it would sell... View Details

Keywords: Financing and Loans; Financial Institutions; Financial Services Industry; Real Estate Industry; Australia

Find at Harvard

January 2018
Case

Trian Partners' Proxy Contest at Procter & Gamble

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Quinn Pitcher

In July 2017, activist hedge fund Trian Partners announced that it was launching a proxy fight at U.S. consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble. P&G would be the largest company ever subjected to a proxy fight, as Trian sought to have its CEO, Nelson Peltz, elected to the... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Corporate Governance; Institutional Investing; Investment Activism; Business and Shareholder Relations; United States

15 Jun 2016
News

These VC Partners May Make Your Firm Less Innovative

15 Jul 2015
News

Greece bailout includes a €50 billion asset fund. Here’s how to avoid wasting it

April 1998 (Revised November 1999)
Case

Hamilton Financial Investments: A Franchise Built on Trust

By: Robert L. Simons and Antonio Davila

Provides a vehicle for students to evaluate risk management in the fast-paced mutual funds industry. A new risk manager has been hired to install new management controls and procedures. A series of decisions will determine how much business and franchise risk the... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Management Teams; Managerial Roles; Forecasting and Prediction; Investment Funds; Performance Evaluation; Corporate Strategy; Change Management; Financial Services Industry; Banking Industry

February 2006 (Revised August 2006)
Case

Auctioning Morningstar

By: Malcolm P. Baker and James Quinn

Morningstar, a publisher of data and ratings for mutual fund investors, is considering an auction-based approach to the company's upcoming IPO, with management weighing the risks and benefits of the auction approach vs. a traditional underwritten offering. View Details

Keywords: Financial Strategy; Initial Public Offering; Stock Shares; Cost vs Benefits; Strategy; Auctions; Business or Company Management; Conflict of Interests; Publishing Industry

November 2017
Case

One Life; One Love (A)

By: Thomas DeLong and Kerry Herman

Katie Hood, CEO of the One Love Foundation (One Love), a group dedicated to the prevention of relationship violence, had grown the organization's base of funding support to $6 million by 2017 and broadened its mandate to include relationships across many demographics.... View Details

Keywords: Start-up; ＂Leading A Foundation＂; Social Enterprise; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Leadership