Publications

Video

Nneka Ezeigwe - Making A Difference

August 2023
Case

Floward

By: Krishna Palepu and Namrata Arora

In 2022, Abdulaziz B. Al Loughani, CEO and co-founder of Floward, an online flower and gifting company established in Kuwait in 2017, contemplated the firm's growth trajectory. Floward, an e-commerce enterprise that offered fresh-cut flowers sourced directly from... View Details

Keywords: Initial Public Offering; Expansion; Growth and Development Strategy; E-commerce; Information Technology Industry; Middle East; North Africa; Saudi Arabia; Kuwait; United Arab Emirates; Jordan

October 2013 (Revised January 2017)
Case

Walmart around the World

By: Juan Alcácer, Abhishek Agrawal and Harshit Vaish

After reaching the limits of its successful expansion in the United States in the early 1990s, Walmart sought growth opportunities in markets abroad. This case describes Walmart's attempts to replicate its successful U.S. business model in Mexico, Canada, Brazil,... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Success; Globalized Markets and Industries; Expansion; Market Entry and Exit; Failure; Retail Industry; Germany; China; Argentina; South Korea; Canada; Japan; Brazil; Africa; United Kingdom; United States; Mexico

Brian Trelstad is a Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School in the General Management Unit and the Faculty Chair of the Advanced Leadership Initiative. He teaches elective courses on Social Entrepreneurship and Systems... View Details

Keywords: venture capital industry; venture capital industry; venture capital industry; venture capital industry; venture capital industry; venture capital industry

November 1998 (Revised April 1999)
Case

Wireless Telecom Negotiation

By: Jay O. Light

A venture capital/private equity fund is preparing to negotiate with the two parties in a prospective PCS joint venture: the entrepreneur and AT&T Wireless. The negotiation will decide how equity and control are shared in the venture. View Details

Keywords: Joint Ventures; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Governance Controls; Negotiation Deal; Wireless Technology; Telecommunications Industry

March 2024
Supplement

ELCA's Series A Cap Table Exercise (Student Version)

By: Raymond Kluender, Anke Becker and Johnson Elugbadebo

In ELCA, the company must decide between two term sheets: one put forth by STV and one put forth by ESV.

This exercise is an analysis of the implications of these two term sheets on the ownership structure and the payouts of common and preferred... View Details

Keywords: Analysis; Venture Capital; Investment; Ownership Stake

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

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Research Summary

Examples of current projects

By: William R. Kerr

Entrepreneurship, innovation and growth
Transformations for profitable growth
Corporate innovation and venturing
High-skilled immigration and the structure of US firms
Agglomeration forces and cluster... View Details

February 2002
Case

Rafael Development Corporation -- Converting Military Technology to Civilian Technology in Israel

Describes an Israeli joint venture company, created to convert military technology to civilian uses. Also documents the explosive growth of the Israeli high-technology sector in the 1990s. View Details

Keywords: Technology; Commercialization; Technology Industry; Israel

17 Mar 2016
News

You’ve Bought a Small Business. Now What?

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

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

April 1999 (Revised November 1999)
Case

Columbia Capital Corporation: Summer 1998

By: G. Felda Hardymon and Justin D. Wasik

In August 1998, the partners of Columbia Capital in Arlington, Va. made a decision about whether or not to raise an outside fund for venture capital investing. Columbia had begun in 1988 as a boutique investment bank focused on the telecommunications industry, but had... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Partners and Partnerships; Investment Funds; Banks and Banking; Financial Services Industry; Telecommunications Industry; United States

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

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2014
Working Paper

The Cost of Friendship

By: Paul A. Gompers, Vladimir Mukharlyamov and Yuhai Xuan

We investigate how personal characteristics affect people's desire to collaborate and whether this attraction enhances or detracts from performance in venture capital. We find that venture capitalists who share the same ethnic, educational, or career background are... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Partners and Partnerships; Decision Making; Identity

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13 Feb 2017
Working Paper Summaries

Diversity in Innovation

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

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