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Can Microcredit Work in the United States?
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Magazine ArticleLending small amounts of cash to fledgling entrepreneurs has been successful in developing countries but hasn't worked as well in America. The authors... -
Managers and Leaders: Are They Different?
Leadership & Managing People Magazine ArticleManagers and leaders are two very different types of people. Managers' goals arise out of necessities rather than desires; they excel at defusing conflicts... -
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 […] -
Turbocharging Asian Turnarounds
Finance & Accounting Magazine ArticlePrivate equity investors in Asia are fine-tuning the art of the turnaround using three principal strategies. -
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 […] -
A Few Unicorns Are No Substitute for a Competitive, Innovative Economy
Innovation & Leadership Digital ArticleEntrepreneurship is declining and conglomeration is increasing. -
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. -
For a Booming Economy, Bet on High Growth Firms, Not Small Businesses
Global Business Digital ArticleJust adding SMEs is a problem, not a solution -
New Ventures for Corporate Growth
Finance & Accounting Magazine ArticleVenturing is serious business, requiring skill, patience, and entrepreneurial flair. Most new ventures involve entering unfamiliar markets, employing... -
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 […] -
What Venture Trends Can Tell You
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Magazine ArticleNew research from McKinsey suggests what the inevitable shakeout in the venture capital industry heralds for the broader business community. -
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. -
The Asian Innovation Century, Again
Innovation & Leadership Digital ArticleThree issues holding back Asian innovation, and three possible solutions. -
VC Larry Cheng on What Makes a Great Entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship Digital ArticleI recently sat down with Larry Cheng, a partner at Fidelity Ventures. He writes one of my favorite VC blogs, Thinking about Thinking, named after a course that both of us had the chance to take many years back at Harvard College. As part of my ongoing interview series investigating what lies at the center […]
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The Black Rhino
Communication Case Study11.95View Details John Hume, a veteran game farmer and founder of the Mauricedale Game Ranch in South Africa, was deeply troubled by the record upsurge in black rhino poaching... -
M-Lab: Enabling Innovation at Mitsubishi Corporation
Leadership & Managing People Case Study11.95View Details M-Lab's founding goals were to infuse an innovation mindset into Mitsubishi Corporation; to catalyze new business opportunities; and to enable a dialogue... -
Hövding: The Airbag for Cyclists
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details In 2012, Anna Haupt and Terese Alstin, cofounders of the Hövding company, reflect on the evolution of their venture and the way forward. Since 2005, Haupt... -
Honor Foundation: Accessing Special Operations Talent
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details In 2020, The Honor Foundation (THF), a nonprofit dedicated to helping U.S. military special operators to transition into civilian careers, was facing... -
Red Force Labs: Securing Online Transactions, at What Price?
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details The market for security solutions is highly fragmented with no dominant players in the market. Yash finds himself in a situation in which the Indian banking... -
Tennant Company: Innovating Within and Beyond the Core
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details Tennant, a leading producer of floor cleaning equipment, must determine the business model to use for its new chemical free cleaning technology. In 2005,... -
Business-to-Business Electronic Commerce: Mondus.com, an E-marketplace for Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details This case describes the development and use of a neutral B-to-B marketplace (mondus.com), set up for small- and medium-sized enterprises. It analyses... -
NiPay's Pricing Conundrum - Compact Case
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details NiPay is a software provider competing in the Nigerian business-to-business payments market. Founded by Idaku Ibrahim nearly 20 years ago, NiPay sells... -
Kheyti: Product and Business Development at an AgTech Social Enterprise
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details In early 2017, after launching its successful "Greenhouse-in-a-Box" pilot project in India with fifteen smallholder farmers, Kheyti, a non-profit agricultural... -
Negotiating Social Value - Crisis at Fuel Safe (A): General Instructions
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details In this two-party negotiation, a large oil company accuses a social venture supplier of overcharging and threatens to take its business to lower cost... -
Keurig
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details Nick Lazaris becomes Keurig's third CEO in three years, after one founder was fired and the other decided to leave the company. He inherits a company... -
CONNECT: The Knowledge Network (A)
Leadership & Managing People Case Study11.95View Details In 1992, Maureen Clarry and Kelly Gilmore quit their jobs to start CONNECT: The Knowledge Network, an Information Technology Consulting company. Maureen... -
New Century Brewing: Moonshot Caffeinated Beer
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details Discusses the introduction of a completely new beverage to the U.S. market. New Century Brewing, which is owned by one of the founders of Boston Beer... -
UpDown: Confidential Instructions for PHUC
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study5.00View Details Michael Reich is having severe doubts about how he split the equity with his co-founders two months ago, when they completed a one-page "November Agreement."... -
Alex Laats and NBX Corporation
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details venture finance focus on the economics of financing; while these materials provide useful information about the mechanics of valuation and how to structure... -
MVMT Strength: Lifting Profits
Management Case Study11.95View Details It was July 2022, and Isaac Morgado, one of the founders of MVMT Strength Inc., wanted to create a comprehensive marketing plan for the fall season. The... -
Road Well Traveled: A Note on the Journeys of HBS Entrepreneurs
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details Based on a 1992 mail survey of Harvard MBAs who started their own businesses. Questions focused on 4 areas: 1) development of the business concept, 2)... -
Raising capital for Financial Butler (C)
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study5.00View Details This case focuses on Nick Hungerford's attempt to raise capital for his FinTech start-up, Financial Butler, (later renamed Nutmeg). The concept is a digital... -
Villeroy & Boch: Tradition, Innovation and 270 Years of a Franco-German Alliance
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details Villeroy & Boch is one of the oldest manufacturing companies in Europe, still controlled by the founding families, though with a public listing. Its specialty... -
Kathy Fish at Procter & Gamble: Navigating Industry Disruption by Disrupting from Within
Organizational Development Case Study11.95View Details When Kathy Fish, Procter & Gamble's Chief Research, Development & Innovation Officer, and a 40-year company veteran, stepped into her role in 2014, she...
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Can Microcredit Work in the United States?
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Magazine ArticleLending small amounts of cash to fledgling entrepreneurs has been successful in developing countries but hasn't worked as well in America. The authors... -
The Black Rhino
Communication Case Study11.95View Details John Hume, a veteran game farmer and founder of the Mauricedale Game Ranch in South Africa, was deeply troubled by the record upsurge in black rhino poaching... -
Managers and Leaders: Are They Different?
Leadership & Managing People Magazine ArticleManagers and leaders are two very different types of people. Managers' goals arise out of necessities rather than desires; they excel at defusing conflicts... -
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 […] -
Turbocharging Asian Turnarounds
Finance & Accounting Magazine ArticlePrivate equity investors in Asia are fine-tuning the art of the turnaround using three principal strategies. -
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. -
M-Lab: Enabling Innovation at Mitsubishi Corporation
Leadership & Managing People Case Study11.95View Details M-Lab's founding goals were to infuse an innovation mindset into Mitsubishi Corporation; to catalyze new business opportunities; and to enable a dialogue... -
Hövding: The Airbag for Cyclists
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details In 2012, Anna Haupt and Terese Alstin, cofounders of the Hövding company, reflect on the evolution of their venture and the way forward. Since 2005, Haupt... -
Honor Foundation: Accessing Special Operations Talent
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details In 2020, The Honor Foundation (THF), a nonprofit dedicated to helping U.S. military special operators to transition into civilian careers, was facing...