Publications

SSRN

2017
Working Paper

Cost of Experimentation and the Evolution of Venture Capital

By: Michael Ewens, Ramana Nanda and Matthew Rhodes-Kropf

We study how technological shocks to the cost of starting new businesses have led the venture capital model to adapt in fundamental ways over the prior decade. We both document and provide a framework to understand the changes in the investment strategy of VCs in... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Investing; Abandonment Option; Technological Innovation; Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; Investment

SSRN

1993
Chapter

Aspects of Financial Contracting in Venture Capital

By: William A. Sahlman

Keywords: Venture Capital; Contracts; Financial Services Industry

September 2003 (Revised January 2005)
Case

Emergence, Valhalla, and Orchid: Divergent Models for Venture Capital Funds

By: William A. Sahlman and Matthew Willis

Compares and contrasts three different venture capital funds from the perspective of a potential investor. The first fund has a technology-enabled services preference, the second a Mid-Atlantic region preference, and the third a seed round preference. Students are... View Details

Keywords: Borrowing and Debt; Entrepreneurship; Service Operations; Information Technology; Venture Capital

Educators

February 1997
Case

Advent of Venture Capital in Latin America, The

By: Debora L. Spar

Widely regarded as the leader in international private equity, Advent International is considering the establishment of a private equity fund in Latin America in 1996. Typically, Advent entered new private equity markets through the creation of multicountry regional... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Joint Ventures; Market Entry and Exit; Globalized Markets and Industries; Financial Services Industry; Boston; Latin America

Fast Answer

Corporate venture capital subsidiaries: how to identify

How can I find which firms have corporate venture capital subsidiaries? Capital IQ allows you to create a list of corporate venture View Details

27 Apr 2021
News

IPO or M&A? How Venture Capital Shapes a Startup's Future

January 1986
Background Note

Note on the Venture Capital Industry: Update--1985

By: William A. Sahlman

Keywords: Venture Capital

September 2006
Teaching Note

Corporate Venture Capital at Eli Lilly (TN)

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Erin Seefeld

Keywords: Venture Capital; Pharmaceutical Industry

Article

The Rise and Fall of Venture Capital

By: Paul A. Gompers

Keywords: Venture Capital

October 1996 (Revised April 2011)
Module Note

Venture Capital and Private Equity: Module IV

By: Josh Lerner, G. Felda Hardymon and Ann Leamon

Provides an overview of a module that focuses on the adaptation of the private equity model to corporate and nonprofit settings. View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Private Equity; Investment; Nonprofit Organizations; Adaptation

April 2010
Article

Performance Persistence in Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital

By: Paul A. Gompers, Josh Lerner, David Scharfstein and Anna Kovner

This paper presents evidence of performance persistence in entrepreneurship. We show that entrepreneurs with a track record of success are much more likely to succeed than first-time entrepreneurs and those who have previously failed. In particular, they exhibit... View Details

Keywords: Performance; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Market Timing; Competency and Skills; Success; Business Startups

Second Quarter 2024
Article

Venture Capital in a Time of Turmoil

By: Josh Lerner

One area of consensus among academic economists and policymakers is the need for greater innovation. This concern is rooted in worries about the lagging rate of productivity growth in many Western nations. In the U.S., for instance, the productivity growth rate... View Details

Keywords: Productivity Growth; Economic Growth; Innovation and Invention; United States; Europe

11 Jun 2020
Blog Post

Know Your Audience - Recruiting HBS Students for Venture Capital

Director and Career Coach Katja Frey – Recruiting Relations Manager Together, Jonathan and Katja make up the Career & Professional Development team that manages relationships with venture capital firms... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital / Private Equity

May–June 2020
Article

Interfirm Ties Between Ventures and Limited Partners of Venture Capital Funds: Performance Effects in Financial Markets

By: Umit Ozmel, M. Deniz Yavuz, Timothy E. Trombley and Ranjay Gulati

We argue that strong indirect ties are conducive to the transfer of private information, which provides an advantage in identifying profitable investment opportunities. In our context, a strong indirect tie is generated between an investor and a focal firm if the... View Details

Keywords: Interfirm Ties; Social Networks; Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; Performance

Teaching Interest

Private Equity and Venture Capital (Executive Education)

By: Josh Lerner

As equity markets appear to strengthen, interest rates remain low, and asset values look attractive, private equity firms are uniquely positioned to pursue new opportunities. This View Details

October 2018
Teaching Note

DBL Partners: Double Bottom Line Venture Capital

By: Mark R. Kramer, Shawn A. Cole and Caitlin Reimers Brumme