Publications

January 1985
Case

Business Research Corp. (A)

Contains a description of a decision confronting an entrepreneur: which of two investment proposals should he accept to fund the creation and marketing of a database that comprises the full text of research reports produced by Wall Street investment banking firms? The... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Cost vs Benefits; Valuation; Investment Banking; Negotiation Participants; Negotiation Deal; Financing and Loans; Financial Strategy; Corporate Finance; Service Industry

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Leadership - Faculty & Research

Leadership Leadership 2015 Chapter Leave No Slice of Genius Behind: Selecting and Developing Tomorrow's Leaders of Innovation By: Linda A. Hill More than ever, leaders of nearly every kind of organization view their human resources teams... View Details

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2023 Reunion Presentations - Alumni

investments, as well as the challenges and successes that are being experienced by firms in the US and globally. Entrepreneurial Solutions to World Problems Professor Emeritus William View Details

October 2013 (Revised August 2016)
Case

NOWaccount

By: Ramana Nanda, William A. Sahlman and Lauren Barley

It was September 2013, and NOWaccount Network Corporation (NOW®) co-founders John Hayes and Lara Hodgson were putting the final touches on the presentation deck for their annual shareholders' meeting. Along with co-founder Stacey Abrams, the pair had designed NOW's... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Finance; Finance; Entrepreneurship

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Accounting & Management Awards & Honors - Faculty & Research

Corporate Finance Conference for “Being Surprised by the Unsurprising: Earnings Seasonality and Stock Returns” with Tom Chang, Samuel Hartzmark, and David Solomon. Eugene F. Soltes : Received the 2015 Charles M. View Details

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Faculty & Researchers - Managing the Future of Work

de Chalendar. Managing Talent Pipelines in the Future of Work , Harvard Business School case, 2019. With William R. Kerr, Manjari Raman and Carl Kreitzberg. The Caring Company: How Employers Can Cut Costs And Boost Productivity View Details

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General Management Awards & Honors - Faculty & Research

category in 2017. Regina E. Herzlinger : Named one of the 60 Most Powerful People in Healthcare by Becker’s Hospital Review in 2017. Regina E. Herzlinger : Recognized as an Honorary Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives... View Details

November 2010
Case

Gilt Groupe

By: Michael J. Roberts, William A. Sahlman and Tamara Obradov

The case explores decisions faced by Gilt Groupe co-founders in 2009 regarding how rapidly to grow, which growth strategies to pursue and how much capital to raise. View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Finance; Growth Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Decision Making

May 1983 (Revised December 1987)
Case

Technical Data Corp.

Describes a decision confronting the president of a small company about selling some or all of the shares in his company to another firm. Technical Data Corp. provides analytical services to professional bond market traders over a system of computer terminals operated... View Details

Keywords: Stocks; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Internet and the Web; Information Infrastructure; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Valuation; Negotiation Tactics; Mergers and Acquisitions; Corporate Strategy; Horizontal Integration; Information Industry; Service Industry

October 1995
Case

Centex Telemanagement, Inc. (B)

By: William A. Sahlman and Andrew S. Janower

Contains a description of the events surrounding the financing of Centex Telemanagement, Inc. by Sierra Ventures, a venture capital fund. The case is written from the perspective of the venture capitalists and is designed to teach students about the process of venture... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Financing and Loans; Financial Institutions; Business Startups

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The Gift of Global Talent

Migration & Offshore Outsourcing William R. Kerr 19 Feb 2019 | Stanford Social Innovation Review The $4.8 trillion immigration issue that is being overlooked by Washington Lori Ioannou 13 Feb 2019 | CNBC... View Details

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Finance Awards & Honors - Faculty & Research

Winner of the 2021 Doriot Award for the Best Private Equity Research Paper for “How Do Venture Capitalists Make Decisions?” ( Journal of Financial Economics , January 2020) with William Gornall, Steven N. Kaplan, and Ilya View Details

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Business, Government & the International Economy Awards & Honors - Faculty & Research

selected for the 2022 Books of the Year by New Statesman . Caroline M. Elkins : Legacy of Violence: A History of the British Empire (Alfred A. Knopf, 2022) was included in The New York Times ' 100 Notable... View Details

January 1986 (Revised March 1997)
Case

Horizon Group

Contains a description of a situation confronting the co-founder of a company planning to produce software for microcomputers. The company has just completed raising money from some wealthy investors by forming an R&D Limited Partnership. Development of the program (an... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Venture Capital; Partners and Partnerships; Business Plan; Outcome or Result; Research and Development; Financial Strategy; Corporate Finance; Information Technology Industry

December 2010
Background Note

Risk and Reward in Venture Capital

This note describes the payoff structure of investment in individual venture capital–backed companies and in venture capital portfolios. Venture Capital investments are characterized by high failure rate (0ver 50%) and a small number of given successes (greater than... View Details

Keywords: Capital Markets; Venture Capital; Investment Return; Investment Portfolio; Analytics and Data Science; Failure; Performance; Information Technology

October 2022 (Revised September 2023)
Supplement

SolarWinds Confronts SUNBURST (B)

By: Frank Nagle, George A. Riedel, William R. Kerr and David Lane

Supplements the (A) case, describing actions taken by SolarWinds as well as by regulatory agencies in the aftermath of the immediate crisis. The case also includes reflections by SolarWinds managers on the choices they made with respect to disclosure, media relations,... View Details

Keywords: Cyberattacks; Cybersecurity; Corporate Disclosure; Crisis Management; Customer Focus and Relationships; Legal Liability; Governance Compliance; Business and Government Relations; Information Technology Industry; United States

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Events - Business History

Events Events Upcoming Events Business History Seminar The Fall 2025 Business History Seminar, co-organized by Geoffrey Jones and Christina Lubinski, explores the theme "Rethinking Entrepreneurial History." The Seminar meets via Zoom on... View Details

October 1995
Case

Centex Telemanagement, Inc. (A)

By: William A. Sahlman and Andrew S. Janower

Contains a description of the events surrounding the financing of Centex Telemanagement, Inc. by Sierra Ventures, a venture capital fund. The case is written from the perspective of the venture capitalists and is designed to teach students about the process of venture... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans