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How to Fund Indian Start-Ups
Innovation & Leadership Digital ArticleWith little seed capital available, founders need to learn to bootstrap. -
How Private Equity Firms Infuse a Positive Attitude
Private equity Digital ArticleTimes change and markets transform themselves overnight. The half-life of common wisdom is shorter than ever. But top private equity firms have distilled a set of institutional habits that boost the likelihood of their success. What’s critical to this success? Attitude. PE leaders take pains to foster a “results-oriented mind-set”. In short, that means creating […] -
My First, Failed Foray into Venture Investing
Venture capital Digital ArticleI love hearing about other people’s dreams. “Dreams,” as in: “this is what I always wanted to do with my life.” Tell me about your dream, and like Pavlov’s dogs, I begin to salivate. I almost can’t help it — encouraging people and their dreams makes me happy, and I am good at it. In […] -
This Program Uses Lean Startup Techniques to Turn Scientists into Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurship Digital ArticleAnd it’s changing the way they do science. -
Groupon Doomed by Too Much of a Good Thing
Venture capital Digital Article“Alright, you caught us. We’re actually not making any money. In fact, we are really losing a lot of money.” This is the essence of Groupon’s declaration last week that it will remove the controversial accounting metric called Adjusted Consolidated Segment Operating Income (ACSOI) from its financial statements. ACSOI essentially measures Groupon’s profits before subtracting […] -
Win Over the Person Blocking Your Deal
Communication Digital ArticleFirst, understand his or her motivations. -
The Five-Step Failure Checklist
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Digital ArticleFor HBR's April issue on failure, I penned a piece on the experience of going through a failed IPO. In one context or another, you've likely failed, too.... -
Can You Balance a Startup and a Baby?
Work-life balance Digital Article“To get married and have kids and have a family inspires success.” – Francis Ford Coppola Any day now, we’re going to have a baby. Our first baby. Could be tonight.** And I’m just one word: scared. The fear has crept up on me. A little bit each time someone patted me on the back […] -
The Role of Private Equity in Driving Up Health Care Prices
Competitive strategy Digital ArticleIt prioritizes short-term profits over patients’ health. -
Top Ten Lies of Entrepreneurs
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Magazine ArticleEver wondered how entrepreneurs convince VCs to fund their businesses? A leading venture capitalist delivers the inside scoop on what not to say. -
The Overlooked Key to a Successful Scale-Up
Entrepreneurship Magazine ArticleIt’s mastering the “extrapolation” stage, when start-ups begin to focus on profitability, not just growth. -
How Founder Control Holds Back Start-ups
Innovation & Leadership Digital ArticleThe Box founder's small equity stake was a good idea. -
Shakedown (HBR Case Study and Commentary)
Global Business Magazine ArticleCustomer Strategy Solutions, a California-based developer of order fulfillment systems, is facing a shakedown. Six months after the firm's CEO, Pavlo... -
Transient Advantage
Strategy & Execution Magazine ArticleFor decades, the business world has been fixated on achieving sustainable competitive advantage, a position within an industry that allows a company to... -
Turkey Badly Needs a Long-Term Plan for Syrian Refugees
Labor Digital ArticleIt’s time to stop treating the situation as a short-term crisis. -
How Can India Unleash Its Entrepreneurs?
Entrepreneurship Digital ArticleIn the course of the last three days I have spent at the 2009 India Economic Summit organized by the World Economic Forum (WEF), I have heard speeches from many politicians and policy-makers — from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma to Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman of the Planning […] -
Why Innovation Labs Fail, and How to Ensure Yours Doesn’t
Incubators Digital ArticleSetting up a research hub is easy. Setting it up to succeed is harder. -
Bootstrap Finance: The Art of Start-ups
Entrepreneurial financing Magazine ArticleEntrepreneurship is more celebrated, studied, and desirable than ever. Business school students flock to courses on entrepreneurship. Managers, fearful of losing their step on the corporate ladder, yearn to step off on their own. Policymakers pin their hopes for job creation and economic growth on start-ups rather than on the once-preeminent corporate giants. Belief in […] -
The One Thing VCs Could Do Immediately to Increase Returns
Consumer behavior Digital ArticleHow investors can start seeing more opportunities. -
Getting to the Land of Must-Haveness, Faster
Strategy & Execution Digital ArticleLately I have been spending a lot of time with some of our portfolio company CEOs talking about how to differentiate their products and services. How...
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Century Galaxy Group: The Price of Compassion
Finance & Accounting Case Study11.95View Details The case describes what happened in December 2019 when Guo Meiling, the chairwoman of Beijing Century Galaxy Group, needed to decide whether she should... -
The Art of Social Entrepreneurship: Dakshina Chitra and Madras Crafts Foundation (MFC) in India
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details The case traces the milestones of a 26-year history of a social entrepreneur creating a social enterprise, Madras Craft Foundation (MCF). The story leads... -
Boardroom Battle Behind Bars: Gome Electrical Appliances Holdings -- A Corporate Governance Drama
Global Business Case Study11.95View Details Despite widespread news of the incarceration of Gome Electronics' CEO, Huang Guangyu, Bain Capital felt they carefully undertook due diligence before... -
Astralis Group: Determining a Brand Strategy
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details After launching a Danish esports company in July 2019, and going public in December 2019 with multiple brands associated with different games, the Astralis... -
Fatima Akilu: The rise of a quiet leader (A)
Leadership & Managing People Case Study11.95View Details In 2015, Fatima Akilu found herself sitting at the kitchen table with her sister, shocked and saddened by what has just happened to her, wondering what... -
Analyzing New Venture Opportunities
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study8.95View Details ... -
The Future of SuperApps: Founder Alignment (Part B)
Management Case Study5.00View Details The SuperApps series of cases presents student-entrepreneurs with some of the difficult non-operating problems they are sure to confront in their startups.... -
Executive Compensation at Talent Partners
Finance & Accounting Case Study11.95View Details Talent Partners' CEO was very successful at growing the business and establishing its leadership position. He was compensated with a mix of salary and... -
DaVita HealthCare Partners and the Denver Public Schools: Creating Connections
Leadership & Managing People Case Study11.95View Details In 2011, DaVita HealthCare Partners (DaVita)-a Fortune 500 healthcare services company specializing in kidney dialysis services-and the Denver Public... -
Worldzap
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details In February 2001, the CEO of a new technology start-up had to decide how to present his firm's value proposition to future clients, customers, and business... -
Volt Lines: Leading a B2B Service Provider through a Crisis (B)
Sales & Marketing Case Study5.00View Details Supplement to case 523037 Volt Lines was a next-generation transportation service in Istanbul, Turkey. The company was trying to disrupt the traditional... -
Softbank Vision Fund: Changing Dynamics of Venture Capital
Management Case Study11.95View Details The SoftBank Vision Fund case examines the history and evolution of late-stage venture investing and explores SoftBank's evolving investment strategy.... -
International Entrepreneurship: Winter Term 2008
Global Business Case Study8.95View Details Explains the mission, philosophy, structure, and classroom and grading policies for the second-year MBA elective International Entrepreneurship. -
Cervus Equipment Corporation: Harvesting a New Future
Leadership & Managing People Case Study11.95View Details Cervus Equipment Corporation has grown its business substantially over the past 10 years through regional acquisitions and strong organic growth. The... -
Beck Taxi
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details Beck Taxi is Toronto's leading cab brokerage. In May 2009, the company's chief executive officer (CEO) is wondering whether the company could change the... -
Shady Trail
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details Holt Lunsford was intrigued by the packet of papers that lay in front of him. The papers comprised a brochure that Lonestar Bank had put together in an... -
Weetman Pearson and the Mexican Oil Industry (B)
Global Business Case Study5.00View Details Supplements the (A) case. -
SEWA Trade Facilitation Center: Changing the Spool
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details The case is about the decision to convert a not-for-profit organization into a for-profit company. STFC, which is part of a larger non-profit organization... -
Wal-Mart Puerto Rico: Promoting Development Through a Public-Private Partnership
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details "Sowing the Development of the Country" (SDC) was a public-private partnership between Wal-Mart Puerto Rico (Wal-Mart PR), the island's Department of... -
Mãe Terra and Unilever (A)
Leadership & Managing People Case Study11.95View Details The case concerns the sale of Mae Terra, one of Brazil's leading brands for packaged organic foods, to the consumer goods giant Unilever in 2017. Working...
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How to Fund Indian Start-Ups
Innovation & Leadership Digital ArticleWith little seed capital available, founders need to learn to bootstrap. -
Century Galaxy Group: The Price of Compassion
Finance & Accounting Case Study11.95View Details The case describes what happened in December 2019 when Guo Meiling, the chairwoman of Beijing Century Galaxy Group, needed to decide whether she should... -
How Private Equity Firms Infuse a Positive Attitude
Private equity Digital ArticleTimes change and markets transform themselves overnight. The half-life of common wisdom is shorter than ever. But top private equity firms have distilled a set of institutional habits that boost the likelihood of their success. What’s critical to this success? Attitude. PE leaders take pains to foster a “results-oriented mind-set”. In short, that means creating […] -
My First, Failed Foray into Venture Investing
Venture capital Digital ArticleI love hearing about other people’s dreams. “Dreams,” as in: “this is what I always wanted to do with my life.” Tell me about your dream, and like Pavlov’s dogs, I begin to salivate. I almost can’t help it — encouraging people and their dreams makes me happy, and I am good at it. In […] -
This Program Uses Lean Startup Techniques to Turn Scientists into Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurship Digital ArticleAnd it’s changing the way they do science. -
The Art of Social Entrepreneurship: Dakshina Chitra and Madras Crafts Foundation (MFC) in India
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details The case traces the milestones of a 26-year history of a social entrepreneur creating a social enterprise, Madras Craft Foundation (MCF). The story leads... -
Boardroom Battle Behind Bars: Gome Electrical Appliances Holdings -- A Corporate Governance Drama
Global Business Case Study11.95View Details Despite widespread news of the incarceration of Gome Electronics' CEO, Huang Guangyu, Bain Capital felt they carefully undertook due diligence before... -
Groupon Doomed by Too Much of a Good Thing
Venture capital Digital Article“Alright, you caught us. We’re actually not making any money. In fact, we are really losing a lot of money.” This is the essence of Groupon’s declaration last week that it will remove the controversial accounting metric called Adjusted Consolidated Segment Operating Income (ACSOI) from its financial statements. ACSOI essentially measures Groupon’s profits before subtracting […] -
Win Over the Person Blocking Your Deal
Communication Digital ArticleFirst, understand his or her motivations. -
Astralis Group: Determining a Brand Strategy
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details After launching a Danish esports company in July 2019, and going public in December 2019 with multiple brands associated with different games, the Astralis...