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How to Compete for Talent like a Private Equity Firm
Private equity Digital ArticleIf you want to be successful, you have to harness the talent. The top private equity firms have a genius for hiring superior talent. All organizations need great people, but PE measures talent with one test only: performance. It’s not that private equity firms are heartless. Rather, their three- to five-year time horizon doesn’t allow […] -
Can a Volunteer-Staffed Company Scale?
Corporate communications Magazine ArticleAn educational-gaming firm rethinks its talent strategy. -
The Era of “Move Fast and Break Things” Is Over
Venture capital Digital ArticleHere’s what that means for VCs and entrepreneurs. -
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 […] -
Joint Ventures and Partnerships in a Downturn
Competitive strategy Magazine ArticleHow to think about your existing collaborations—and the new ones you should seek out -
Idle Funds are the Devil's Playground
Innovation & Leadership Digital ArticleIn the book we're working on right now, we make the argument that capitalism is evolving because the environment in which it is situated is changing in... -
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 […] -
How CFOs Can Take the Long-Term View in a Short-Term Economy
Innovation & Leadership Digital ArticleBe more entrepreneurial. -
How to Attract the Right Shareholders
Fundraising Digital ArticleInstead of casting a wide net, try a more strategic approach. -
HBR's List of Audacious Ideas for Solving the World's Problems
Leadership & Managing People Magazine ArticleAs the global economy vacillates between signs of recovery and omens of collapse, businesses and governments are clamping down. But the world doesn't... -
Entrepreneurs vs. Executives at Socaba.com (Commentary for HBR Case Study)
Organizational Development Magazine ArticleIt's been four years since Dave Souza, Joe Castle, and Ryan Bahar started Socaba.com--an e-business that sells office supplies and services. Six months... -
The Top Ten Lies of Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurial financing Magazine ArticleIt’s easy to turn off prospective investors. Just feed them the same old lines. -
A Stealthier Way to Raise Money
Entrepreneurship Magazine ArticleWhen entrepreneurs get financing from big VC firms, they often lose control over their idea and their business. An increasing number are unwilling to make that deal. -
The Other Diversity Dividend
Organizational restructuring Magazine ArticleWe know that varied teams make better decisions. A new study shows they also make better investments. -
The Strategic Secret of Private Equity
Private equity Magazine ArticleWhy “buying to sell” can generate a much higher return on investment than the public company practice of “buying to keep” -
The Disruption of Venture Capital
Disruptive innovation Digital Article“…most often the very skills that propel an organization to succeed in sustaining circumstances systematically bungle the best ideas for disruptive growth. An organization’s capabilities become its disabilities when disruption is afoot.” – Clayton Christensen, The Innovator’s Solution In November 2005, Paul Graham wrote an essay titled “The Venture Capital Squeeze.” It had been over […] -
Can Microcredit Work in the United States?
Entrepreneurial financing Magazine ArticleLending small amounts of cash to fledgling entrepreneurs has been a great success in developing countries, but the concept hasn’t fared as well in the United States. -
Private Equity's Lessons for the Rest of Us
Finance & Accounting Digital ArticleA year ago, most of us couldn't name a single asset in the Cerberus Capital Management portfolio. Today, we know them as the private equity firm that... -
Realistic Criteria for Judging New Ventures
Entrepreneurship Magazine ArticleThe notion of starting a business can be quite alluring, conjuring up images of independence, glory, fame, and riches. Such emotionally uplifting images make it quite easy to be overly optimistic or even totally unrealistic in assessing markets, products, profits, and other aspects of a new venture. This article is not meant to discourage budding […] -
4 Factors That Predict Startup Success, and One That Doesn't
Innovation & Leadership ResearchEvidence from more than 300 venture capital investments.
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UpDown: Confidential Instructions for GEORG
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."... -
Early-Stage Term Sheets
Finance & Accounting Case Study8.95View Details This note was written as an updated version of "The Early-Stage Term Sheet" (UV2526) and may be used in its place. In seeking funding for an early-stage... -
Doximity: Financing a Social Network for Physicians
Finance & Accounting Case Study11.95View Details Despite the existence of large social networks, such as Facebook and LinkedIn, co-founders Jeff Tangney and Dr. Nate Gross believed there was a unique... -
MOVE Guides (A)
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details It was a crisp autumn day in London in 2012. Brynne Kennedy and Steve Black, the co-founders of MOVE Guides, were huddling with their lead software developer,... -
Pathfinder Capital
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details Two former consultants have raised a search fund and are looking for a company to buy and run. After eight months of looking at deals, they have just... -
Founder Collective
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details Founder Collective ("FC") launched in 2009 with a clear mission: to be the most aligned fund for founders at the seed stage. In keeping with its mission,... -
Grab: Discovering New Frontiers for Growth in the Southeast Asian Sharing Economy
Leadership & Managing People Case Study11.95View Details Launched in 2012, Grab began in Malaysia as a third-party e-hailing taxi dispatching mobile application. The company expanded at a remarkable speed and... -
AIT Group Plc
Finance & Accounting Case Study11.95View Details A U.S. venture capital firm has just learned that the deal structure for purchasing an illiquid U.K. software firm is unacceptable to institutional investors.... -
An Overview of Corporate Venture Capital
Finance & Accounting Case Study11.95View Details This note examines the corporate venture capital (CVC) industry, which has played an increasingly large role in the global innovation ecosystem, especially... -
MinderSoft, Inc.
Finance & Accounting Case Study11.95View Details The MinderSoft case explores the entrepreneur's attempt to raise a first round of venture capital. The founder and venture fund's valuation differ by... -
Better Place: The Electric Vehicle Renaissance
Leadership & Managing People Case Study11.95View Details This case describes the innovative business model of Better Place Inc., an electric vehicle company. The key challenges in operating the business model... -
Integral Vision Ltd. (A)
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details A stop-action simulation case takes participants through the process whereby four people (three young entrepreneurs and an investor) take a machine vision... -
Privateer Holdings: Navigating a Rocketing, But Complex, Cannabis Marketplace
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details Privateer Holdings was a Seattle-based private equity firm that was "shaping the future of the legal cannabis industry." In late 2017, Privateer held... -
Vermeer Technologies (A1): Hiring the CEO
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study5.00View Details Supplements the (A) case. -
The Elcer Products Transaction: Confidential Information for Euro Elektrische Keramische Vorrichtungen (Euro EKV), GmbH
Strategy & Execution Case Study8.95View Details In a six-party negotiation exercise, the TNDA Corp. plans to sell the Elcer Products Division to one of four potential buyers (industrial, financial,... -
Valuing Late-Stage Companies and Leveraged Buyouts
Finance & Accounting Case Study8.95View Details This note replaces "Valuation of Late-Stage Companies and Buyouts" (UVA-F-1639). This note focuses on the valuation of late-stage companies with a particular... -
Xedia and Silicon Valley Bank (A)
Finance & Accounting Case Study11.95View Details Xedia, a networking equipment manufacturer that helps provide high-speed Internet service for corporate clients through access routing, wants a bridge... -
IFMR Capital: Securitizing Microloans for Non-Bank Investors
Global Business Case Study11.95View Details In 2009 IFMR Capital sought to create new funding options for microfinance institutions by using a structured finance approach to attract a new class... -
Lovepop
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details As they prepare to graduate from Harvard Business School, the co-founders of greeting card company startup Lovepop need capital to cover the company's...
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How to Compete for Talent like a Private Equity Firm
Private equity Digital ArticleIf you want to be successful, you have to harness the talent. The top private equity firms have a genius for hiring superior talent. All organizations need great people, but PE measures talent with one test only: performance. It’s not that private equity firms are heartless. Rather, their three- to five-year time horizon doesn’t allow […] -
UpDown: Confidential Instructions for GEORG
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."... -
Can a Volunteer-Staffed Company Scale?
Corporate communications Magazine ArticleAn educational-gaming firm rethinks its talent strategy. -
Early-Stage Term Sheets
Finance & Accounting Case Study8.95View Details This note was written as an updated version of "The Early-Stage Term Sheet" (UV2526) and may be used in its place. In seeking funding for an early-stage... -
Doximity: Financing a Social Network for Physicians
Finance & Accounting Case Study11.95View Details Despite the existence of large social networks, such as Facebook and LinkedIn, co-founders Jeff Tangney and Dr. Nate Gross believed there was a unique... -
The Era of “Move Fast and Break Things” Is Over
Venture capital Digital ArticleHere’s what that means for VCs and entrepreneurs. -
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 […] -
MOVE Guides (A)
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details It was a crisp autumn day in London in 2012. Brynne Kennedy and Steve Black, the co-founders of MOVE Guides, were huddling with their lead software developer,... -
Pathfinder Capital
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details Two former consultants have raised a search fund and are looking for a company to buy and run. After eight months of looking at deals, they have just... -
Joint Ventures and Partnerships in a Downturn
Competitive strategy Magazine ArticleHow to think about your existing collaborations—and the new ones you should seek out