Publications

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

September 2016 (Revised November 2017)
Case

Casper Sleep Inc.: Marketing the 'One Perfect Mattress for Everyone'

By: Robert J. Dolan

“A Warby Parker of mattresses? Somebody is going to do it. Why not us?” This was the topic of a conversation begun in spring 2013 among Gabe Flateman, Philip Krim, Neil Parikh, and T. Luke Sherwin. The four met as members of a New York City venture accelerator... View Details

Keywords: Mattress; Sleep; Marketing; Business Model; Marketing Channels; Adoption; Sales; Consumer Products Industry

21 Mar 2022
Blog Post

The Impact of Career Coaching | When Mission Meets Passion

CPD interviewed Nancy M. Williams (MBA 1992) to share how she leveraged career coaching to make a career switch, launch a venture and find true fulfillment in her professional and personal endeavors. Tell us a little about yourself, your... View Details

August 2014
Case

Rent the Runway (Abridged)

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Brent Goldfarb and David A. Kirsch

Two months after a successful launch In November 2009, the cofounders of Rent the Runway (RTR), a website that rented designer dresses, are debating whether to grow their startup at a measured pace and focus on improving operational effectiveness, or raise a new round... View Details

Keywords: Lean Startup; Electronic Commerce; Fashion; Expansion; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; E-commerce; Fashion Industry

September 1997 (Revised October 2001)
Case

efficient market services: August 1993 (A)

By: Paul A. Gompers and Jeffrey A. Farrell

Penny Baron, vice president of efficient market services, must decide how to finance rapid expansion for a young market research company. Venture leasing is a possibility and terms are explored. View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Growth Management; Research; Marketing; Financing and Loans; Business Startups; Management Teams; Leasing; Service Industry; United States

June 2007
Case

Buddy March

Entrepreneurial general manager (GM) ignores specific directives from his boss (GVP) to discontinue a new venture that the GM is championing. View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Rank and Position; Management Teams

April 1998
Case

Katie Burke (A)

By: Myra M. Hart, Marco Iansiti and Barbara Feinberg

Follows the career of Katie Burke, HBS MBA 1995. Offers the opportunity to discuss a variety of issues, including innovation, software development, entrepreneurship, new venture design, and career choices. View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Entrepreneurship; Personal Development and Career; Business Startups; Innovation and Invention

19 Sep 2014
News

Peter Thiel on Why Monopolies Matter

November 2005
Background Note

Deal Structure and Deal Terms

By: Michael J. Roberts and Howard H. Stevenson

Describes the general principles of crafting financial deals around the provision of capital to entrepreneurial ventures. Discusses in more detail some of the specific aspects of venture capital term sheets. View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Governance Compliance; Negotiation Deal

2011
Other Unpublished Work

Military Ties, New Ventures, and Political Risk Management in Emerging Economies

By: Shon R. Hiatt and Wesley Sine

New ventures in emerging economies face a number of challenges such as political instability, corruption, and uncertain property rights that can severely hinder their ability to grow and survive, yet little is known about how startups can mitigate such risk. Using data... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Business Startups; Government and Politics; Developing Countries and Economies; Latin America

June 1999 (Revised March 2001)
Case

New Business Investment Company: October 1997

By: Josh Lerner, Lee Branstetter and Takeshi Nakabayashi

A quasi-government organization seeks to stimulate entrepreneurship in Japan by making venture capital investments. The organization of the fund, identification of transactions, and oversight of portfolio firms pose considerable challenges. View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; Government and Politics; Problems and Challenges; Financial Services Industry; Japan

26 Apr 2018
HBS Seminar

Olav Sorenson, Yale University

13 Feb 2017
Working Paper Summaries

Diversity in Innovation

Keywords: by Paul A. Gompers and Sophie Q. Wang; Financial Services; Education

May 2002
Supplement

Jafco America Ventures: Reflections by Barry Schiffman, President

Presents Barry Schiffman, president and CIO of JAFCO America Ventures, as he reflects on the nature of the venture capital business, critical success factors, and some of the strategic decisions JAFCO faced. View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship

07 Apr 2003
Research & Ideas

XTV: Xerox’s Attempted Recovery From “Fumbling the Future”

product line within Xerox. He had the support of Xerox's chief executive officer, David Kearns, for establishing the new internal structure. This structure would work much like an internal venture capital firm. Xerox would exploit Adams's... View Details

Keywords: by Henry Chesbrough

January 2009 (Revised December 2009)
Supplement

Playing with Fire at Sittercity (B)

By: Noam T. Wasserman and Rachel Gordon

To help her finance her aggressive expansion plans, Genevieve Thiers plans to raise venture capital for the first time. She has spent the last six long years building Sittercity into the nation's leading babysitting web service, larger than all of its competitors... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Problems and Challenges; Risk Management; Agreements and Arrangements; Service Operations; Family and Family Relationships; Competition; Expansion; Internet

July 1998 (Revised August 1998)
Case

Community Wealth Ventures, Inc.

By: James E. Austin and Meredith D. Pearson

Share Our Strength, a successful anti-hunger nonprofit organization, created a for-profit subsidiary--Community Wealth Ventures (CWV)--to provide advisory services to companies and nonprofits on collaboration. Management is reviewing CWV's start-up experience. View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; For-Profit Firms; Governing and Advisory Boards; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Partners and Partnerships; Nonprofit Organizations; Consulting Industry