Publications

October 2020 (Revised December 2020)
Case

Investing at Pivotal Ventures

By: Emil N. Siriwardane, Emily R. McComb and Eren Kuzucu

Launched in 2015 by Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Pivotal Ventures is an investment and incubation company. The company aims to support and promote transformational ideas, people and organizations, and advance social progress for women... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Management; Mission and Purpose; Venture Capital

September 2020
Case

Disrupting Justice at RightNow: Persevere, Pivot or Perish

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Amir Reza Rezvani

The case examines the focus of an early stage company, and how an unexpected external incidence can threaten or void the business model. It encompasses issues such as defining and pivoting a business model, organizational requirements for a pivot, investor relations,... View Details

Keywords: Legal Aspects Of Business; Startup; Teams; Pivot; Financing; Entrepreneurship; Law; Venture Capital; Business Startups; Financing and Loans; Business Model; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Legal Services Industry; Germany

29 Apr 2022
News

Professor Cynthia Montgomery: Pivots

02 Dec 2010
News

The pivotal moment

25 Apr 2022
Video

Professor Cynthia Montgomery: Pivots

August 2021
Case

Mylestone: Can Multiple Pivots Preserve the Life of a Death Tech Startup?

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Marilyn Morgan Westner

Dave Balter and Jim Myers co-founded Mylestone, a death tech startup that applied technology to transform how grieving people memorialize the dead. The startup addressed a cultural problem and promised to solve a pressing need in the antiquated, multi-billion dollar... View Details

Keywords: Pivot; Startup; Business Model; Cryptocurrency; Ethical Decision Making; Emotions; Growth and Development Strategy; Ethics; Market Entry and Exit; Customer Relationship Management; Loss; Change Management; Relationships

October 2003 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Jamcracker: Pivot Path

A medium-size company considers entering into a high-tech "over-the-Net" outsourcing arrangement that hinges on buying an integration platform from Jamcracker. Introduces students to the many options available in modern IT outsourcing and challenges them to develop a... View Details

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Information Technology; Decision Making

Find at Harvard

07 Sep 2021
News

My Pandemic Pivot

Illustration by Mattes - Getty Images The pandemic has had deep and global impacts, driving change in almost every field and industry. These transformations have been personal, too, and the Bulletin used our social media channels to ask alumni how it changed the way... View Details

06 Oct 2021
News

Pivot for Equity: Lessons from Melinda Gates’ Pivotal Ventures

October 2019
Teaching Note

Anthology: Pivoting the Business Model

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Shweta Bagai

Teaching Note for HBS No. 817-066. View Details

May 2019
Teaching Note

Triangulate: Stay, Pivot or Exit

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Shweta Bagai

Teaching Note for HBS No. 817-059. View Details

January 2015 (Revised March 2015)
Teaching Note

Pivots and Incentives at LevelUp

By: Benjamin Edelman

Supplements 915001 View Details

August 2014 (Revised March 2015)
Case

Pivots and Incentives at LevelUp

By: Benjamin Edelman and Karen Webster

LevelUp's mobile payments service lets users scan a smartphone barcode rather than swipe a credit card. Will consumers embrace the service? Will merchants? LevelUp considers adjustments to make the service attractive to both consumers and merchants, while trying to... View Details

Keywords: Mobile Payments; Smartphone; Credit Cards; Interchange Fee; Mobile Marketing; Product Positioning; Competitive Strategy; Mobile Technology; Technology Networks; Food and Beverage Industry; Banking Industry; United States

November 2016 (Revised December 2016)
Case

Anthology: Pivoting the Business Model

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Christopher Payton

In July 2014, after 18 months and eight unsuccessful product launches, the CEO of Yabbly has agreed to sell his company to a larger, well-funded startup, providing a return of capital for his investors and a home for his team. Two weeks prior to the scheduled closing,... View Details

Keywords: Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Business Model; Business Plan; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Innovation Strategy; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Internet and the Web; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Exit or Shutdown; Fairness; Valuation; Technology Industry; Consumer Products Industry; North America; United States; Seattle