Publications

September 1985 (Revised January 1986)
Case

Peter Wendell

By: William A. Sahlman

Contains a description of a decision confronting an employee of IBM in late 1981. Should he leave IBM to become head of a new venture capital fund which will specialize in technology investments? The case is designed to expose students to the nature of the opportunity... View Details

Keywords: Personal Development and Career; Jobs and Positions; Opportunities; Valuation; Decision Choices and Conditions; Resignation and Termination; Venture Capital; Financial Services Industry; Computer Industry

Apr 06 2015
Interview

What Lies Ahead for Private Equity?

22 Apr 2014
Video

HBS NVC: One Simple Idea Can Change Everything

Article

Sizing Up Entrepreneurial Potential: Gender Differences in Communication and Investor Perceptions of Long-Term Growth and Scalability

By: Laura Huang, Priyanka D. Joshi, Cheryl J. Wakslak and Andy Wu

Female entrepreneurs have been found to face disadvantages as compared with male entrepreneurs, especially in acquiring the financial resources they need to sustain and grow their ventures. Across three studies, we examine how disparities in funding outcomes may be due... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Finance; Gender; Prejudice and Bias; Communication; Perception

Find at Harvard

December 2002 (Revised December 2017)
Background Note

Teaching Old Companies New Tricks: The Challenge of Managing New Streams Within the Mainstream

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter

Describes the challenge of starting new ventures or new activities in established companies, especially if they diverge from the mainstream of ongoing commitments. Fledgling ventures require a different kind of management that acknowledges their uncertainty, intensity,... View Details

Keywords: Business Units; Teaching; Entrepreneurship; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business or Company Management; Organizations; Problems and Challenges; Risk and Uncertainty; Corporate Strategy

September 2016 (Revised April 2018)
Case

Western Technology Investment

By: Ramana Nanda, William A. Sahlman and Nicole Keller

Based in Portola Valley, California, Western Technology Investment (WTI) specialized in a hybrid form of debt and equity financing for early-stage companies. Like traditional venture capital and private equity firms, WTI raised funds from institutional investors and... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Finance; Equity; Finance; Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans; California

Career Coach

Shruti Rao

Shruti wants to help students explore the opportunities available to HBS students in the banking, private equity and venture capital industries. Having worked in these industries, Shruti can provide insights into how these industries... View Details

06 Feb 2023
Blog Post

Meet the Black Investment Club

In 2020, Paul Ampofo (MBA 2020) and Brian Sykes (MBA 2020) founded the Black Investment Club at Harvard Business School to address the massive underrepresentation of Black investors in venture capital, private equity, and investment... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Venture Capital; Venture Capital

25 Apr 2017
News

Harvard Business School’s annual contest for entrepreneurs is a case study unto itself

November 1994 (Revised December 1995)
Case

Scripps Research Institute, The: November 1993 (Abridged)

By: Josh Lerner

In November 1993, Dr. Richard Lerner, president of the Scripps Research Institute, faces the challenge of maintaining his organization's financial and scientific vitality. A proposed cooperative venture with Sandoz has attracted considerable criticism. Meanwhile, a new... View Details

Keywords: Joint Ventures; Financing and Loans; Policy; Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Problems and Challenges; Research; Nonprofit Organizations

15 Feb 2023
News

50th AASU Conference Honors the Past and Challenges the Future

February 2002 (Revised May 2004)
Case

U.S. Labs

By: Michael J. Roberts and Robert F. Higgins

Describes the evolution of a start-up venture in the pathology lab segment of the clinical lab business. U.S. Labs tries a series of business models before running out of cash. The company is in dire need of financing, as its venture capital backers are refusing to put... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Venture Capital; Financial Strategy; Financing and Loans; Business Model; Business or Company Management; Planning; Business Strategy; Health Industry

July 2003 (Revised September 2003)
Case

Refinancing of Shanghai General Motors (A), The

By: Mihir A. Desai and Mark Veblen

The CFO of General Motors' joint venture in Shanghai, Shanghai General Motors (SGM), wants to refinance almost $900 million of project finance it raised to begin operations. The highest priority is improving the terms of the financing with regard to costs and specific... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Multinational Firms and Management; Joint Ventures; Financing and Loans; Auto Industry; Shanghai

Career Coach

Kaitlin Hearn

Kaitlin grew up in Canada and studied engineering, but has spent the bulk of her career in finance and consulting in New York. As a serial career switcher herself, Kaitlin is well positioned to help you think through the merits and challenges of several common post-MBA... View Details

May 2009 (Revised January 2011)
Case

HubSpot: Inbound Marketing and Web 2.0

By: Thomas J. Steenburgh, Jill Avery and Naseem Ashraf Dahod

This case introduces the concept of inbound marketing, pulling customer prospects toward a business through the use of Web 2.0 tools and applications like blogging, search engine optimization, and social media. Students follow the growth of HubSpot, an entrepreneurial... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Entrepreneurship; Price; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Communications; Social and Collaborative Networks; Segmentation; Web

September 2000 (Revised March 2001)
Case

Joe Casey: January 2000

By: G. Felda Hardymon

Joe Casey (HBS class of 1992) reflects on the path that has led him into a venture career and contemplating his next moves. View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Personal Development and Career; Business Ventures

February 2002
Case

NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations

Discusses the impact of limited market size on epilepsy therapies and shows how an early-stage venture fund can catalyze faster development of new treatments. View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Commercialization; Innovation and Management; Business Startups; Pharmaceutical Industry

May 2004 (Revised October 2004)
Case

Globe Telecom

By: Tarun Khanna, Krishna G. Palepu and Ingrid Vargas

The Ayala Group, one of the oldest and largest Filipino business groups, partnered with Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) to launch a telecom venture following industry deregulation in the Philippines. The partners must decide whether to continue the venture in... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Development Economics; Partners and Partnerships; Emerging Markets; Business Startups; Telecommunications Industry; Singapore; Philippines