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The Era of “Move Fast and Break Things” Is Over
Venture capital Digital ArticleHere’s what that means for VCs and entrepreneurs. -
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 to Attract the Right Shareholders
Fundraising Digital ArticleInstead of casting a wide net, try a more strategic approach. -
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 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 […] -
4 Factors That Predict Startup Success, and One That Doesn't
Innovation & Leadership ResearchEvidence from more than 300 venture capital investments. -
How the Geography of Startups and Innovation Is Changing
Global Business Digital ArticleIt's more global, more urban, and more winner-take-all. -
What Venture Trends Can Tell You
Finance and investing Magazine ArticleThe venture capital industry is in for a shakeout—and smart outsiders are watching. -
What You Need to Know as a Young, Black Startup Founder
The obstacles you can expect to confront, and how to overcome them. -
How Blockchain Is Changing Finance
Financial markets Digital ArticleIt could reduce friction and costs. -
Dear Entrepreneur: Think Cash, Not Ideas
Innovation & Leadership Digital ArticleLast week NBA legend-turned-entrepreneur Magic Johnson sold his Starbucks franchises back to the corporation for a reported $75 million. Rumor has it,... -
VC Funding Can Be Bad For Your Start-Up
Innovation & Leadership Digital ArticleMost successful entrepreneurs never take any venture capital. -
Venture Financing and Entrepreneurial Success
Entrepreneurship Digital ArticleDoes high-quality venture financing increase the success of funded ventures? My co-authors, Josh Lerner of HBS and Antoinette Schoar of MIT, and I define venture finance here to include professional investors in high-growth ventures like venture capitalists and angel investment groups. Other forms of entrepreneurial finance include credit cards, banks, friends and family, personal savings, […] -
Entrepreneurs Versus Executives at Socaba.com
Venture capital Magazine ArticleJoe Castle, cofounder of Socaba.com, pushed open the door to Dave Souza’s apartment with his shoulder. He was balancing two pizzas and a six-pack of local microbrew in his arms. Dave, meeting him just as the door swung open, took the pizzas from him. “We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” he said with mock […] -
What Big Companies Can Learn from the Success of the Unicorns
Innovation & Leadership Digital ArticleInnovation requires focus. -
The Case for Investing in Underdogs
Finance & Accounting Digital ArticleDon't undervalue the overlooked. -
Put Your P&L to the Test
Innovation & Leadership Digital ArticleMy job is to fund companies with high growth prospects. When we evaluate prospective investments, one of the things we hear from time to time is, "My...
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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,... -
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,... -
Yale Investments Office: November 2020
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details David Swensen and the Investments Office staff must decide whether to continue to allocate the bulk of the university's endowment to illiquid investments-hedge... -
Bessemer Venture Partners: Century Fund
Finance & Accounting Case Study11.95View Details In July of 2021, Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP) contemplated the future of its growth investing practice, known as "Century." While still relatively... -
The Business of Death Births Human Composting
Management Case Study11.95View Details The case revolves around an entrepreneur, Maggie Fleur, who manages several businesses on her family's farm and who is considering a complementary new... -
WORKING CAPITAL IN THE TIME OF COVID-19: CIMPRESS AND THE APOLLO VENTURE DEBT
Finance & Accounting Case Study11.95View Details When the COVID pandemic hit developed economies in full swing in the spring of 2020, companies scrambled to make sense of the implications for their business... -
Golden Gate Ventures: Growth Decisions
Management Case Study11.95View Details This case explores the founding story and growth trajectory of Singapore-based venture capital firm Golden Gate Ventures as it grows its operations and... -
The Messenger: Moderna, the Vaccine, and the Business Gamble That Changed the World
30.00View Details The inside story of an unprecedented feat of science and business. At the start of 2020, Moderna was a biotech unicorn with dim prospects. Yes, there... -
Ribbit Capital and the Gauntlet Investment Opportunity
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details Ten-year-old, Palo Alto-based Ribbit Capital is best-known for its global investments in fintech. The firm was also an early advocate of crypto and blockchain,... -
AfricInvest: A Pan-African Investment Platform
Finance & Accounting Case Study11.95View Details The case is set in December 2018, when Ziad Oueslati, co-managing director and co-founder of AfricInvest, a leading pan-African private equity firm headquartered... -
Altos Ventures (B)
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study5.00View Details In December 2021, Han Kim, Anthony Lee, and Ho Nam reflected on how far they had come since 2012. This B case provides an update on Altos Ventures' decision-making... -
Corporate Venture Capital at Eli Lilly
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details Reviews the role of corporate venture capital and its history at Eli Lilly. Also presents a challenging venture investment opportunity. -
MOVE Guides (B)
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study5.00View Details It was August 2014. The MOVE Guides team had successfully converted two of their initial pilot clients into paying customers whose employees were delighted... -
Kapor Capital
Management Case Study11.95View Details Case on succession planning at a mission-driven, diverse VC firm. -
Raising capital for Financial Butler (A)
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View 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... -
Evaluating the Social Value of Impact Investments: Vox Capital and Magnamed
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details Vox Capital was a pioneer as an impact investment company in Brazil, with the purpose of creating a world where businesses can generate positive social... -
Blue Meridian Partners (A): Scaling for Impact
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details In 2018, Edna McConnell Clark Foundation in a bold move transferred all its assets to a fund pooled with other General Partners and Limited Partners,... -
The Costa Rican Software Corridor: Startup Develops Expansion Plans for Latin America
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details In the 1990s, San José, Costa Rica, was beginning to emerge as a Latin American hot spot for the information technology sector. SPS Software, a small... -
Project Maji: Pricing Water in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details In July 2021, Sunil Lalvani, founder and CEO of Project Maji, a non-profit social enterprise headquartered in Dubai that had already provided sustainable,... -
NFX Capital and Moov Technologies
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details In July 2019, James Currier, a general partner at San Francisco-based NFX Ventures, was considering a seed stage investment of $1.5 million in Moov Technologies,...
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The Era of “Move Fast and Break Things” Is Over
Venture capital Digital ArticleHere’s what that means for VCs and entrepreneurs. -
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,... -
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,... -
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 to Attract the Right Shareholders
Fundraising Digital ArticleInstead of casting a wide net, try a more strategic approach. -
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. -
Yale Investments Office: November 2020
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details David Swensen and the Investments Office staff must decide whether to continue to allocate the bulk of the university's endowment to illiquid investments-hedge...