Publications

April 2020 (Revised November 2020)
Case

Ping An: Pioneering the New Model of ‘Technology-driven Finance’

By: Feng Zhu, Anthony K. Woo and Nancy Hua Dai

In mid-December 2018, Peter Ma, Chairman and CEO of Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. was considering whether the company should grow a fifth ecosystem of Smart City Services. Established in 1988, Ping An was one of the top 10 global financial... View Details

Keywords: Business Ecosystems; Fintech; Finance; Information Technology; Business Model; Expansion; Competitive Strategy; Financial Services Industry; Technology Industry

2009
Chapter

Small and Medium Firm Lending in Mexico: Lessons and Current Issues

By: Rodrigo Canales and Ramana Nanda

Mexico is often cited as one of the world's most entrepreneurial countries in terms of the percentage of its population that has started or is in the process of starting a business venture. Yet Mexico does not seem to be very friendly to entrepreneurs, as confirmed by... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Policy; Competition; Mexico

Read Now

09 Jan 2007
First Look

First Look: January 9, 2007

Venture Capital Investment Cycles: The Impact of Public Markets Authors:Paul Gompers, Anna Kovner, Josh Lerner, and David Scharfstein Publication:Journal of Financial Economics (forthcoming). (Earlier... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

10 Sep 2020
Research & Ideas

The COVID Two-Step for Leaders: Protect and Pivot

some people than others, in order to reach their goal. Next, help negotiate the allocation of resources within the team, recognizing that some functions will contribute more to the team (at the very least, in terms of people’s time) than... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Katherine Connolly Baden

November 2016 (Revised December 2016)
Case

Anthology: Pivoting the Business Model

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Christopher Payton

In July 2014, after 18 months and eight unsuccessful product launches, the CEO of Yabbly has agreed to sell his company to a larger, well-funded startup, providing a return of capital for his investors and a home for his team. Two weeks prior to the scheduled closing,... View Details

Keywords: Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Business Model; Business Plan; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Innovation Strategy; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Internet and the Web; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Exit or Shutdown; Fairness; Valuation; Technology Industry; Consumer Products Industry; North America; United States; Seattle

July 2018 (Revised January 2021)
Case

RunKeeper

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Shweta Bagai

The case examines the focus of an early stage company and how venture capital can distort a founder’s view. It encompasses issues such as financing, understanding the founders’ definition of success/failure, defining and pivoting a business model, and determining the... View Details

Keywords: Early Stage Funding; Pivot; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Business Model; Health Industry

November 2022
Case

Ajax Health: A New Model for Medical Technology Innovation

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Ben Creo

This case teaches key success factors for both startup and established MedTech firms. It examines how to structure a firm to maximize innovation and financial returns with organizational structures that better align the incentives for the different skill sets... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Success; Innovation Strategy; Mergers and Acquisitions; Market Entry and Exit; Financial Strategy; Business Model; Partners and Partnerships; Entrepreneurship; Private Equity; Technology Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

23 Nov 2020
Blog Post

We Rise

When Hayley Barna (MBA 2010) launched the beauty startup Birchbox in 2010, she expected fundraising would be a challenge. Every entrepreneur knows the long odds: By some estimates, less than 1 percent of new companies receive that coveted View Details

Nitin Nohria

Nitin Nohria served as the tenth dean of Harvard Business School from 2010-2020. He previously served as co-chair of the Leadership Initiative, Senior Associate Dean of Faculty Development, and Head of the Organizational Behavior unit.

As Dean, building on... View Details

14 Jun 2004
Research & Ideas

The Big Money for Big Projects

of these textbooks discuss initial public offerings (IPOs), leasing, and venture capital for an average of 15, 10, and 4 pages each, respectively. This limited coverage is unfortunate from a research... View Details

Keywords: by Ann Cullen; Financial Services

April 2000
Case

Francisco Partners

By: Josh Lerner and David L. Gallo

Francisco Partners (which focuses on buyouts of high-technology firms) aims to be the largest first-time fund ever raised. The rationales for the fund, fundraising strategy, and partnership terms and conditions are among the topics explored. View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Leveraged Buyouts; Venture Capital; Financial Strategy; Partners and Partnerships; Strategy; Investment Funds; Financial Services Industry

Profile

Lauren Burrows

Why was earning your MBA at HBS important to you? I sought my MBA at HBS at a key moment of transition in my career, both in terms of industry focus and position. I was committed to pursuing a career in the energy industry, but wasn’t... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital / Private Equity; Venture Capital / Private Equity; Venture Capital / Private Equity; Venture Capital / Private Equity

22 Sep 2020
Research & Ideas

Recessions Push Some Entrepreneurs to Launch Too Soon

Knowledge. [Image: alvarez] Related Reading Small Businesses Are Worse Off Than We Thought Research Paper: Financial Distancing: How Venture Capital Follows the Economy Down and Curtails Innovation Your... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

07 Aug 2012
First Look

First Look: August 7

sheet in hand. Despite this huge milestone, Kapoor knew it was only the start of a long process of raising money. He only had three days to get back to Vikram Sharma and indicate whether he would like to initiate the diligence process.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

April 2010
Supplement

The Auction for Travelport (B)

By: Andrei Hagiu and Misha Sanwal

This short case presents the epilogue of The Auction for Travelport (A). Blackstone decided to bid on its own, acquired Travelport for $4.3 billion and subsequently went on to acquire another GDS, Travelspan, for $1.4 billion. It then merged the two GDSs and partially... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Advantage; Value Creation; Private Equity; Mergers and Acquisitions; Industry Structures; Initial Public Offering; Capital Markets; Market Transactions; Change; Auctions; Travel Industry