Publications

Profile

Deborah A. Farrington

from a former HBS section mate who was the CEO of a small California startup named NetLedger. “He said to me `Debby, I know a lot of smart venture capitalists and quite frankly, you’re the only one I like,’” Farrington said.... View Details

17 May 2018
News

Creating Opportunity for Indian Entrepreneurs

Center for Sustainable Future; serves as program manager of Amrita Center for International Programs; and teaches entrepreneurship and business strategy. He also works with Embracing the World, a humanitarian organization focused on... View Details

Keywords: Jennifer Myers

01 Jun 2017
News

Six Receive 2017 HBS Alumni Achievement Award

risk-takers, and that wasn’t me.” Location, location: “There was an advantage to being a startup in the Midwest. Everybody was moving to the coast, and we were able to stay outside the fray. Sometimes one of the biggest challenges with... View Details

May 2024
Case

Naked Wines: The Profit vs. Growth Decision

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Edward A. Meyer

Nick Devlin faced a difficult strategic decision in October 2022. As the CEO of a UK-based subscription business connecting wine drinkers in the US, UK, and Australia with winemakers from around the world (which one journalist called the “Netflix of Wine”), he had to... View Details

April 1993 (Revised December 2001)
Case

General Dynamics and Computer Sciences Corporation: Outsourcing the IS Function (B)

By: F. Warren McFarlan and Katherine Seger

Designed to look at outsourcing from the perspective of a major computer services company trying to get into the business. View Details

Keywords: Communication Technology; Business Startups; Business Plan; Business Strategy; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Financial Management; Management Teams; Communication Strategy; Organizational Design; Product Design; Accounting; Activity Based Costing and Management; Computer Industry; Information Technology Industry

23 Jan 2019
Blog Post

The First Five Years: '30 under 30' Edition

to invest but to grow our platform, which is a bit of a startup itself.” Pathipati: “I am a member of the founding team and lead the investment effort at North Island, an innovative private equity firm established by Glenn Hutchins (MBA... View Details

Web

Women, Work, and the “M” Word - Blog: Health Supplement

menopause space. After working for three decades in international development, big tech at Google, government service in the Obama administration, and on the founding team of the healthcare startup Cityblock Health, I watched fertility... View Details

17 Jan 2019
News

The First Five Years: ‘30 Under 30’ Edition

startup itself.” Pathipati: “I am a member of the founding team and lead the investment effort at North Island, an innovative private equity firm established by Glenn Hutchins (MBA 1983) (previously cofounder of Silver Lake and a fellow... View Details

April 2011 (Revised June 2011)
Case

Internet Securities, Inc.: Path to Sustainability

By: Lynda M. Applegate, William R. Kerr and Ryan Johnson

Founded in 1994 when the Internet was still a "toy for techies," the case is set in 1998 when Internet IPOs were red-hot. Internet Securities provides hard-to-find financial, business, economic, and political information on emerging markets. Information from over 600... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Business Model; Business Startups; Decision Choices and Conditions; Venture Capital; Cash Flow; Initial Public Offering; Analytics and Data Science; Growth and Development Strategy; Valuation

February 2021 (Revised June 2023)
Case

Henry Ford: Changing the World

By: Robert Simons and Max Saffer

This case traces the rise of Henry Ford from a small farm in Michigan to the controlling shareholder of the Ford Motor Company. The case describes how Ford, as young man, acquired engineering skills and the risks he took as he built and marketed one of the first... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Entrepreneurship; Personal Characteristics; Business Startups; Management; Success; Values and Beliefs; Technological Innovation; Personal Development and Career; Auto Industry; United States; Michigan

September 2019 (Revised July 2025)
Case

Keroche (A): Fighting for Share in the Kenyan Alcoholic Drinks Market

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Pippa Tubman Armerding

This case discusses the challenges faced by Kenyan alcoholic drinks producer Keroche Industries Limited in 2003, when the Kenyan government accused the company of manufacturing and selling substandard alcoholic drinks, revoked its liquor licenses, and shut down its... View Details

Keywords: Keroche; Alcohol; Wine; Manufacturing; Informal Market; Regulation; Illicit; Illegal; Shutdown; Factory; Low-income Consumers; Multinational; Local; Government; Allegations; Accusations; Negative Press; EABL; Tusker; Beer; SAB; Chang'aa; Naivasha; Rift Valley; East Africa; Lawsuit; Legal Battle; Business Ventures; Business Exit or Shutdown; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Startups; Production; Safety; Quality; Distribution; Small Business; Family Business; Crime and Corruption; Customer Focus and Relationships; Decisions; Income; Demographics; Geographic Scope; Geographic Location; Goods and Commodities; Government Legislation; Growth and Development; Business History; Lawsuits and Litigation; Laws and Statutes; Lawfulness; Goals and Objectives; Consumer Behavior; Market Entry and Exit; Problems and Challenges; Social Issues; Poverty; Strategy; Competition; Entrepreneurship; Manufacturing Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Kenya; Nairobi; Africa

01 Jun 2013
News

Five Bright Ideas

European Computer Driving License, a basic requirement for any IT job in Europe, which otherwise can cost as much as $500 per course.) English language, computer skills, and business management curricula are especially popular. Explains... View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services; Elementary and Secondary Schools; Educational Services

01 Apr 1997
News

Facing the Music

Orchestral Startup —Richard J. Lim (HBS'98), cofounder of Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra Managing a Master—Edward C. Arrendell (MBA'80) with Wynton Marsalis, "an unbeatable combination." Guitar Hero—Henry... View Details

Keywords: Marguerite Rigoglioso

21 May 2018
News

Community Partners Delivers “Expert Goodness” to the Bay Area

volunteers “have helped the city capitalize on the innovation sprouting from Silicon Valley, through specific initiatives such as designing the structure of the city’s startup incubator, developing innovative ways to incorporate... View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley

September 1992
Case

Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market

By: William A. Sahlman

First case in a series of six cases that follow the experience of a cable television company as it adjusts to the rapid rise and precipitous decline of the stock market in the late 1980s. In this case Don Jones, the company's founder and owner, sees the rise in public... View Details

Keywords: Behavioral Finance; Financial Markets; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Restructuring; Corporate Strategy; SWOT Analysis; Wealth; Business Cycles; Entertainment and Recreation Industry