Publications

April 2002
Case

Ocular

By: Paul A. Gompers, Gregor M. Andrade and Jonathan Man

Concerns the decision of Ed Kennedy, co-founder of Ocular Networks, as he decides what financing strategy his firm should take. The venture capital and public markets for telecommunications start-ups had dried up and Kennedy must decide whether to cut costs and raise... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Business Startups; Decisions; Venture Capital; Cost Management; Business Strategy; Telecommunications Industry

05 Sep 2006
Working Paper Summaries

International Financial Integration and Entrepreneurship

Keywords: by Laura Alfaro & Andrew Charlton

January 1989 (Revised October 1993)
Background Note

Note: Valuing a Business Acquisition Opportunity

By: William E. Fruhan Jr.

Describes how to value an acquisition opportunity as a capital budgeting problem. Cash flows are discounted at the cost of capital and debt is deducted to value the equity capital of the target company. A key contribution of the note is the discussion of five methods... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Acquisition; Opportunities

January 2024
Article

Investing with the Government: A Field Experiment in China

By: Emanuele Colonnelli, Bo Li and Ernest Liu

We study the demand for government participation in China’s venture capital and private equity market. We conduct a large-scale, non-deceptive field experiment in collaboration with the leading industry service provider, through which we survey both capital investors... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Private Equity; Business and Government Relations; Entrepreneurship; China

September 2016 (Revised April 2018)
Case

Western Technology Investment

By: Ramana Nanda, William A. Sahlman and Nicole Keller

Based in Portola Valley, California, Western Technology Investment (WTI) specialized in a hybrid form of debt and equity financing for early-stage companies. Like traditional venture capital and private equity firms, WTI raised funds from institutional investors and... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Finance; Equity; Finance; Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans; California

17 May 2007
Working Paper Summaries

The Price of Capital: Evidence from Trade Data

Keywords: by Laura Alfaro & Faisal Z. Ahmed

2019
Book

Patient Capital: The Challenges and Promises of Long-Term Investing

By: Victoria Ivashina and Josh Lerner

There has never been a greater need for long-term investments. And it is increasingly unlikely that the public sector will be willing or able to fill the gap. Those best positioned to address the long-run needs are likely to be the pools of capital in the hands of... View Details

Keywords: Long-term Investing; Large Investors; Capital; Investment; Strategic Planning; Problems and Challenges; Opportunities; Society

July 2008
Supplement

Orchid Partners: Case Epilogue

By: Howard H. Stevenson and Shirley Spence

Describes the real-life outcome of the case “Orchid Partners: A Venture Capital Start-Up” (9-804-138). View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Outcome or Result; Partners and Partnerships; Financial Services Industry

25 Mar 2022
Video

Omobola Johnson

Omobola Johnson, the former Minister of Communication Technology in Nigeria, discusses her transition into a venture capital career and highlights how venture capital enables young Nigerian entrepreneurs to address local challenges. View Details

January 2013
Case

Omidyar Network: Pioneering Impact Investment

By: Michael Chu and Lauren Barley

Omidyar Network, having deployed to date over $500 million in ways ranging from donations to commercial equity capital, must decide whether to back Anudip, an Indian organization dedicated to providing the rural unemployed and marginalized with livelihoods linked to... View Details

Keywords: Social Enterprise; Social Entrepreneurship; Investment; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; India

February 2001 (Revised June 2001)
Case

eSurg (A): Negotiating the Start-Up

By: Jay O. Light and Anthony Massaro

The founders of an online medical supplies firm must negotiate with an established hospital distributor and a venture capital firm. View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Negotiation; Internet and the Web; Financing and Loans; Business Startups; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

February 1986 (Revised November 1992)
Case

Novo Industri A/S--1981

By: W. Carl Kester and Glynn Ferguson

This small but rapidly growing Danish biochemical company must choose among several financing opportunities that include a convertible Eurobond, a rights offering in Denmark and an issue of new common shares in the United States. The case involves a broad range of... View Details

Keywords: Capital Markets; Cost of Capital; Bonds; Stock Shares; Financing and Loans; Globalization; Biotechnology Industry; Chemical Industry; Denmark; United States

2010
Chapter

The Financing of R&D and Innovation

By: Bronwyn H. Hall and Josh Lerner

Evidence on the “funding gap” for investment innovation is surveyed. The focus is on financial market reasons for underinvestment that exist even when externality-induced underinvestment is absent. We conclude that while small and new innovative firms experience high... View Details

Keywords: Research and Development; Innovation and Invention; Venture Capital; Corporate Finance

January 2019
Case

First Aid Beauty

By: Karen Mills and Annie Dang

In 2008, Lilli Gordon, an experienced financial and skincare entrepreneur, founded First Aid Beauty (FAB). She had discovered a white space in the prestige beauty market: high-end skin solutions that were suitable for sensitive skin. After initial success through... View Details

Keywords: Prestige Beauty; Skincare; Preferred Shares; Common Stock; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Decision Choices and Conditions; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry