Publications

23 Oct 2020
Video

Entrepreneurship Opportunities in a Post-COVID World: The Future of Travel, Mobility and Hospitality

19 Apr 2023
Video

How Martine Rothblatt Started a Company to Save Her Daughter

Clear and Present Danger: Planning and New Venture Survival amid Political and Civil Violence

Although entrepreneurs constitute a key economic driving force for many countries, they often face unstable environments due to violence and civil unrest. Yet, we know very little about how environments characterized by high levels of political and civil violence... View Details

Research Summary

1. When Does Industrial Policy Work? Evidence from the Brazilian Ethanol Fuel Industry

Joint work with Tarun Khanna (Strategy Unit, Harvard Business School).

Abstract: What is the impact of a state-led industrial policy program on entrepreneurial activity, industry... View Details

2025
Book

After the Idea: What It Really Takes to Create and Scale a Startup

By: Julia Austin

A lot of entrepreneurs are great at the idea part but do not anticipate the details required to actually run and scale a new venture. Drawing on my experience at renowned startups like Akamai Technologies, VMware, and DigitalOcean and the hundreds of founders and... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Business Plan; Growth and Development Strategy; Business or Company Management

March 2025
Case

Boom, Bust, or Bullseye? Navigating the Short-Term Rental Market

By: John Macomber, Juan Pablo Heusser Killing, Siddhant Pardeshi and Sally Su

Short-term rentals listed via apps like AirBnB and VRBO are increasingly interesting investments for small-scale real estate investors. However, they have substantial operating costs, vacancy risk, and regulatory exposure compared to traditional long-term leases... View Details

Keywords: Housing; Acquisition; Entrepreneurship; Investment; Bids and Bidding; Leasing; Renting or Rental; Real Estate Industry; Accommodations Industry; Arizona; California; Texas

March 1985 (Revised November 1988)
Case

Precision Parts, Inc. (A)

By: William A. Sahlman

Contains a description of a decision confronting two entrepreneurs in mid-1981. They are considering purchasing a small manufacturer of precision electromechanical parts. Among the issues in the case are the following: 1) Should Taylor and Grayson buy Precision Parts,... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Venture Capital; Financing and Loans; Cost vs Benefits; Investment Return; Strategy; Management Practices and Processes; Risk and Uncertainty; Outcome or Result; Manufacturing Industry

June 2016
Case

Duff & Phelps: Scaling an Entrepreneurial Venture (A)

By: Lynda M. Applegate and David Lane

Having teamed up to launch their own financial services business, Noah Gottdiener and Jacob Silverman soon discover a venerable brand and viable business in an established bank subsidiary. They then work for many months to acquire the business as a platform for... View Details

Keywords: Duff ＆ Phelps; Entrepreneurial Management; Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Entrepreneurial Financing; Entrepreneurship; Mergers and Acquisitions; Integration; Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Financial Services Industry

November 2013
Case

Martin Blair

By: Howard H. Stevenson and Michael J. Roberts

Martin Blair is a first-time entrepreneur who draws on his experience in the food service industry to develop two different restaurant concepts almost simultaneously. In relating his experiences, he reveals several important concerns of the thoughtful entrepreneur,... View Details

Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Franchise Ownership; Growth and Development Strategy; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

February 2013
Article

Institutions and Venture Capital

By: Josh Lerner and Joacim Tag

We survey the literature on venture capital and institutions and present a case study comparing the development of the venture capital market in the United States and Sweden. Our literature survey underscores that the legal environment, financial market development,... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Organizations; Taxation; Entrepreneurship; Financial Markets; United States; Sweden

Read Now

28 May 2015
News

Harvard Business School MBA Class of 2015 Celebrates Class Day

17 Jul 2024
News

Harvard Business School Announces Its 2024-2025 Blavatnik Fellows

July 2019
Case

Instabeat—One More Lap?

By: Shikhar Ghosh, Nicole Tempest Keller and Alpana Thapar

This case follows Lebanese entrepreneur, Hind Hobeika, an engineer and competitive swimmer who spends seven years trying to launch a wearable heartrate monitor and motion sensor to help swimmers track their performance while swimming. While the Beirut-based... View Details

Keywords: Startup; Manufacturing; Prototyping; Female Protagonist; Business Startups; Decision Making; Entrepreneurship; Information Infrastructure; Information Technology; Design; Organizational Culture; United States; Lebanon

29 Aug 2006
First Look

First Look: August 29, 2006

Working PapersInternational Financial Integration and Entrepreneurship Authors:Laura Alfaro and Andrew Charlton Abstract We explore the relation between international financial integration and the level of entrepreneurial activity in a country. Using a unique data... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Working Paper

The Composition and Dynamics of Technology-Enabled Entrepreneurship

By: Innessa Colaiacovo, Daniel P. Gross and Jorge Guzman

Using data on nearly all U.S. business registrations since the turn of the twentieth century, and a set of 386 major technologies invented over this period, we study the level, composition, and dynamics of entrepreneurial activity around new technology. We find a... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Innovation and Invention; Patents; Technology Industry