Publications

July 2021
Case

A Close Shave at Squire

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Zoë B. Cullen, William R. Kerr, Benjamin N. Roth and Michael Norris

In 2020, just after closing a $34 million Series B financing round, Dave Salvant and Songe LaRon consider how to adjust their business, Squire Technologies, to the new realities posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Their barbershop technology, including tools to run a shop... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Applications and Software; Growth and Development Strategy; Health Pandemics; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Technology Industry; New York (city, NY); San Francisco

04 Sep 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, September 4, 2018

better economic outcomes. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=54920 September–October 2018 Harvard Business Review Navigating Talent Hot Spots By: Kerr, William R. Abstract—Innovation clusters like San View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

January 2025
Case

Untapped Global: Financing Africa's Missing Middle

By: Raymond Kluender and Emanuele Colonnelli

In November 2024, Jim Chu, founder and CEO of Untapped Global, faced mounting internal tensions over the company’s strategic direction. Untapped had developed a data-driven revenue-based financing (RBF) model to address the “missing middle” problem—the $5.2 trillion... View Details

13 Feb 2017
Research & Ideas

Paid Search Ads Pay Off for Lesser-Known Restaurants

these paid search ads, which appear on top of a Yelp user’s online search results for, say, “Chinese Food” or “Cheap Dinner,” spotlight restaurants that might otherwise blend inconspicuously into a list of many competitors. “There are thousands of restaurants in cities... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Food & Beverage

02 Jan 2001
Research & Ideas

Gurus in the Garage

and growth. That triumph can be attributed to the Valley's distinctive geography, history, and culture. Why The Triumph Viewing the valley from the flight approach to San Francisco International, one is... View Details

Keywords: by Dorothy Leonard & Walter Swap

16 Dec 2014
First Look

First Look: December 16

controversial) shift in its business model from "retail" projects involving individual volunteers to "wholesale" projects with for-profit partners from the San Francisco Bay Area. Its CEO... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

04 Dec 2007
First Look

First Look: December 4, 2007

ballots, and describes discussion within Congress on the matter. Purchase this case: http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=407129 ValueAct: Shareholder in the Boardroom Harvard Business School Case 408-007 ValueAct, a View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

19 Dec 2005
Research & Ideas

Public Education Goes to School

of our districts are achieving high performance in parts of their systems, and making progress on some key dimensions of student achievement. For instance, San Francisco was the top performing urban district... View Details

Keywords: by Mallory Stark; Education

22 Aug 2006
First Look

First Look: August 22, 2006

ways of promoting them. A rewritten version of an earlier note. Purchase this case: http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=806172 The STAR Schools Initiative at the San Francisco... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

08 Mar 2016
First Look

March 8, 2016

global information and communication technology company. The case ends with the location decision between Tokyo, Japan, downtown San Francisco or Sunnyvale, California, regarding establishing a small unit... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

May 2018 (Revised October 2018)
Case

Urban Us

By: Mitchell Weiss and Phoebe Peronto

Shaun Abrahamson and Stonly Baptiste aimed to invest in what they called "urbantech superheroes." At Urban Us, the seed-stage urban technology-focused venture capital firm the two started in 2012, they looked for startups innovating around the future of cities. By... View Details

Keywords: Public Entrepreneurship; Govtech; Urbantech; Seed Investing; Urban Us; Shaun Abrahamson; Stonly Baptiste; Remix; One Concern; Starcity; SeamlessDocs; Venture Capital; Public Sector; City; Urban Development; Entrepreneurship; Miami; San Francisco; New York (city, NY)

27 Sep 2004
Research & Ideas

How Leaders Build Winning Streaks

to Washington Hospital Center as a pair. Jeffrey Lurie enticed Joe Banner to join him at the Philadelphia Eagles. Dusty Baker brought a cadre of coaches with him from the San Francisco Giants to the Chicago... View Details

Keywords: by Rosabeth Moss Kanter

22 Feb 2016
Research & Ideas

The ‘Mother of Fair Trade’ was an Unabashed Price Protectionist

copied the sales approach of Kut-Price. Gleason ultimately bought out the Kut-Price store and liquidated its merchandise, but only after McMaster had left town. To further the cause, in 1929 Gleason found an ally in W. Bruce Philip, a San... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Retail; Health; Legal Services

21 Feb 2012
First Look

First Look: Feb. 21

Christopher Marquis and John AlmandozHarvard Business School Case 412-060 New Resource Bank was founded in San Francisco in 2006 with a mission focused on environmental sustainability. The case illustrates... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

24 Apr 2012
First Look

First Look: April 24

table in their San Francisco apartment. It was March of 2009. A single sheet of paper sat on the table in front of them. The three founders were on the verge of finishing the three month program at... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

July 2020
Technical Note

Digital Natives Growing Without a Sales Force

By: Das Narayandas, Michael Norris and Amram Migdal

This brief case describes the rise of so-called digital natives (also called born-in-digital) in the 2000s and 2010s that successfully grew without a sales force. The case highlights the emergence of business-to-business Internet and cloud-based companies and their... View Details