Publications

November 2016 (Revised October 2018)
Case

Formlabs: Selling a New 3D Printer

By: Frank V. Cespedes, Olivia Hull and Amram Migdal

Headquartered in Somerville, Massachusetts, Formlabs manufactures 3D printers used to print everything from prototypes and models to jewelry, dental, and sculpture molds. As Formlabs prepares to ship its latest model, the Form 2, Head of Customer Development and... View Details

August 2001 (Revised April 2005)
Case

Surface Logix

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III, Michael J. Roberts and Kim Slack

Describes a start-up in the field of nano technology--very small physical structures measured in the billionths of a meter. The company, Surface Logix, has assembled a portfolio of intellectual property and completed some of the R&D work required to develop actual... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Research and Development; Marketing Strategy; Product Marketing; Product Development; Intellectual Property; Investment Portfolio

16 Feb 2004
Research & Ideas

European Private Equity—Still a Teenager?

The European market remains very attractive, with strong potential for growth—especially once French and German restructuring gets more underway, according to a panel of private equity group executives. That panel discussion was part of... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Financial Services

10 Mar 2008
Research & Ideas

Encouraging Entrepreneurs: Lessons for Government Policy

Danish labor market across time (the data tracks when a person enters a company and when he or she moves between periods of employment and self-employment), Nanda and Sørensen found that rates of... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

29 Dec 2019
Research & Ideas

Read Our Most Popular Research Stories of 2019

buyouts on target firms and their workers vary greatly by deal type and market conditions. Experimentation and Startup Performance: Evidence from A/B Testing An analysis of the adoption of A/B testing... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

13 May 2014
Op-Ed

The Alibaba Effect

Alibaba is about to make history with the first genuine mega-IPO of a Chinese entrepreneur-founded company in the United States. The numbers are historic as well—an anticipated market capitalization of some $200 billion. It comes to the... View Details

Keywords: by Bill Kirby & Warren McFarlan; Retail

20 Mar 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, March 20, 2018

automated way, for instance by screening out weapons manufacturers stocks or overweighting LGBTQ friendly companies, while still closely tracking the overall stock market performance. In 2017, bolstered by $3.25 million in seed funding... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

02 Jan 2018
Research & Ideas

The Most Popular Stories and Research Papers of 2017

identify characteristics of stocks that an investor who is worried about bad times should buy— a “rainy day” portfolio. Diversity in Innovation Paul A. Gompers and Sophie Q. Wang discuss a systematic and persistent lack of female, Hispanic, and African American View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

22 Dec 2015
First Look

December 22, 2015

co-creation of markets and value, multinationals without firm-specific advantages, and born-global firms. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=50242 November 13, 2015 Harvard Business Review If CEOs Care About... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

2010
Case

Vander Mining Partners, IPADE

By: Roberto Charvel

In 2010 Vander Mining was trying to raise one of the few private equity funds specialized in mining. This was difficult among other things because institutional investors did not have a private equity team specialized in mining and emerging markets. View Details

Keywords: Real Assets; Business Startups; Business Plan; Economics; Metals and Minerals; Mining; Assets; Private Equity; Public Equity; Goods and Commodities; Emerging Markets; Market Participation; Mining Industry; Financial Services Industry; North and Central America

12 Oct 1999
Research & Ideas

Paid for Success: Options for Compensating CEOs

of these options the same. A fall in the market price leads to more options the following year for the same reason. But fixed number plans don't have this difficulty," Hall continues. "If CEOs succeed in raising the share price... View Details

Keywords: by Judith A. Ross

June 2005 (Revised August 2010)
Case

Distrobot Systems, Inc.

By: William A. Sahlman

Distrobot is a start-up that has developed a new system for warehouse automation. The company is trying to raise money to finance the launch of the product. The founder must decide how much capital to raise, from whom, and on what terms. View Details

Keywords: Financing and Loans; Product Launch; Business Startups; Business Strategy; Distribution Industry; Service Industry

September 2003
Case

Growing Up in China: The Financing of BabyCare Ltd.

By: Mihir A. Desai and Mark Veblen

The CFO of this infant nutritional products company must choose among competing financing offers. The interplay of Chinese legal and customs restrictions and venture capitalists' bargaining techniques challenge the CFO to navigate a tricky negotiation and to devise a... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Working Capital; Emerging Markets; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; China

13 Sep 2011
First Look

First Look: September 13

platforms may coexist without the market tipping. Our model helps explain why platforms with different business models coexist in markets, including online dating, housing, and labor markets. Download the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

10 Jul 2000
Research & Ideas

Cable TV: From Community Antennas to Wired Cities

about 400 such systems with a total of 150,000 subscribers. Thus, cable TV was born of necessity very shortly after the mass market for television broadcasting began to grow. 3 The first CATV systems carried only three channels, which... View Details

Keywords: by Thomas R. Eisenmann; Media & Broadcasting; Consumer Products; Entertainment & Recreation

August 1998 (Revised October 1998)
Case

Lark International Entertainment Ltd. (A)

By: Linda A. Hill and Jennifer Suesse

Two HBS MBA's leave McKinsey and Morgan Stanley to become entrepreneurs in Hong Kong. Together they start up a cinema chain throughout Asia. This case describes the experiences of managing a team in their Wuhan, China cinema. Looks at the challenges of managing growth... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Problems and Challenges; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Startups; Emerging Markets; Leadership Style; Leadership; Groups and Teams; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Hong Kong; China; Asia