Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(1,133)
- Faculty Publications (190)
- 2012
- Other Unpublished Work
Lost in the Clouds: The Impact of Copyright Scope on Investment in Cloud Computing Ventures
By: Josh Lerner and Greg Rafert
Our analysis seeks to understand the impact of changes in copyright scope on investment in new firms. We begin by analyzing the investment effects of the Cartoon Network, et al. v. Cablevision decision in the U.S. and court rulings in France and Germany on venture... View Details
- July – August 2011
- Article
Evolve (Again)
Frenzy over social networks and interactive media can produce equally overhyped predictions that everything will change, not to mention money-losing investments in silly ventures. Separating enduring strategic lessons from the hype can help avoid a new crash. Hint: the... View Details
- February 2011 (Revised September 2016)
- Case
Investcorp and the Moneybookers Bid
By: Matthew Rhodes-Kropf, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Nori Gerardo Lietz
In January 2007, Hazem Ben-Gacem, managing director and co-head of Investcorp Technology Partners (ITP), needs to decide what to bid at an auction for Moneybookers Limited, one of the top three e-payment solution providers in Europe. However, approximately 70% of... View Details
- January 2011 (Revised November 2014)
- Case
Mochi Media
By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Amit Jain
In late 2009, the management of Mochi Media, a venture-backed startup, must decide how to invest scarce resources to achieve continued growth. Mochi has developed a three-sided platform, connecting Flash game developers, sites that aggregate these games, and... View Details
- October 2010
- Case
Narragansett Brewing Company
By: Tom Nicholas, Lindsey Marshall and Charles Anthony Miller
Mark Hellendrung, CEO of Narragansett Brewing Company, is deciding whether to partner with a local television station for the upcoming NHL Winter Classic outdoor hockey game between New England's own Boston Bruins and the Philadelphia Flyers at Fenway Park. He had... View Details
- September 2010
- Teaching Note
The Challenges of Launching a Start-Up in China: Dorm99.com (TN)
Teaching Note for 307075. View Details
- August 2010 (Revised January 2013)
- Case
Urban Water Partners (A)
By: Karthik Ramanna, George Serafeim and Aldo Sesia
The case explores a new business venture to bring clean water to residents of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, who otherwise cannot afford it. Management has enough money to get the company through August 2010 but needs more capital thereafter. An HBS alumnus is interested in... View Details
- 2014
- Working Paper
Financing Risk and Innovation
By: Ramana Nanda and Matthew Rhodes-Kropf
We provide a model of investment into new ventures that demonstrates why some places, times, and industries should be associated with a greater degree of experimentation by investors. Investors respond to financing risk―a forecast of limited future funding―by modifying... View Details
- 2010
- Working Paper
Venture Capital Investment in the Clean Energy Sector
By: Shikhar Ghosh and Ramana Nanda
We examine the extent to which venture capital is adequately positioned for the rapid commercialization of clean energy technologies in the United States. While there are several startups in clean energy that are well-suited to the traditional venture capital... View Details
- February 2010 (Revised October 2010)
- Case
Re-THINK-ing THINK: The Electric Car Company
By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and David Kiron
On January 5, 2010, 48-year-old Richard Canny was on his way to meet the governor of Indiana. He was reading his newly issued press release announcing that THINK planned to start automobile production in Elkhart County, Indiana to launch its THINK City battery-operated... View Details
- June 2008
- Teaching Note
Transparent Value LLC (TN)
By: Sharon P. Katz and Krishna G. Palepu
Teaching Note for [108098]. View Details
- August 2007 (Revised February 2008)
- Case
Pinnacle Ventures
By: Michael J. Roberts, William A. Sahlman and Elizabeth Kind
Describes a prospective "venture debt" loan to a new venture from the perspective of Patrick Lee, a principal at Pinnacle Ventures. Forces students to grapple with the nature of financial risk in the start-up firm and assess the prospective risks and returns to a... View Details
- June 2007 (Revised March 2008)
- Case
Zoots - Financing Growth (A)
By: Michael J. Roberts, William A. Sahlman and Todd Krasnow
Traces the genesis and founding of Zoots, the largest chain of dry cleaning establishments in the U.S. Founded by some of the founders of the very successful Staples chain, the company raises a very large amount of capital without fully proving its business model, and... View Details
- December 2006 (Revised March 2008)
- Case
Prosper Marketplace, Inc.
By: William A. Sahlman and Elizabeth Kind
Describes a set of financial and strategic decisions confronting the founding management team of a new online financial services company. Prosper Marketplace is an internet-based market for individuals to borrow money from other individuals who wish to invest in such... View Details
- June 2006 (Revised January 2012)
- Case
Teena Lerner: Dividing the Pie at Rx Capital (A)
By: Boris Groysberg, Victoria Winston and Robin Abrahams
Teena Lerner started her own hedge fund firm in 2001 after nearly 20 years as a star biotechnology analyst and hedge fund manager. After the start-up phase, her firm became highly profitable. In 2004, however, one of her four analysts lost a lot of money for the firm.... View Details
- May 2006 (Revised June 2006)
- Case
Codon Devices
By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and David Kiron
In December 2005, 40-year-old John Danner was about to make his first presentation to the board of directors of Codon Devices, a one-year-old biotechnology start-up based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. After a month as the company's CEO, Danner was prepared to lay out... View Details
- October 2005 (Revised February 2007)
- Case
Red Flag Software Co.
By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee, Tarun Khanna, David Lane and Elizabeth Raabe
In 2005, just five years after its formal launch, Beijing-based Red Flag Software was the world's second-largest distributor of the Linux operating system and was expecting its first annual profit. On a unit basis, Red Flag led the world in desktops (PCs) shipped with... View Details
- December 2004 (Revised March 2007)
- Case
Cutlass Capital, L.P.
By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Brian DeLacey
David Hetz and Jon Osgood are forming a new venture capital fund in 2001 to invest in health care start-ups. Describes their fundraising activities at a time when venture capital investing has reached an all-time high. Although their background skills and experiences... View Details
- September 2004
- Case
Valhalla Partners Due Diligence
By: William A. Sahlman and Dan Heath
The Valhalla Partners venture capitial firm introduced a new approach to the due-diligence process. An internal due-diligence report analyzes Telco Exchange, a startup company in the IT software space. An extended excerpt examines the trade-offs involved in the new... View Details
- April 2004
- Case
D-Wave Systems: Building a Quantum Computer
By: Alan D. MacCormack, Ajay Agrawal and Rebecca Henderson
D-Wave Systems is a start-up seeking to commercialize a quantum computer. Its business model is unique: as of 2003, it had very few technical resources within the firm. Instead, it financed a series of projects undertaken at universities and government labs. In return... View Details