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Managing Future Growth at an Innovative Workforce Education Startup

Re: William A. Sahlman

Guild Education is an education marketplace that connects employers and universities to provide employees with “education as a benefit.” Now CEO and co-founder Rachel Carlson must decide how to manage the company’s future growth. Professor Bill Sahlman discusses this unique startup and Carlson’s plans for its growth in his case, “Guild Education: Unlocking Opportunity for America's Workforce.” Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Post-COVID Health Care: More Screens, Less Red Tape?

by Danielle Kost

The coronavirus pandemic might lead to major changes in patient care, physician compensation, and regulation. Experts from Harvard Business School's Health Care Initiative share their predictions. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

First Look at New Research and Ideas, June 27

Sean Silverthorne

Building Hyperloop One ... Leading Coca-Cola in Turkey ... Improving profit in the mobile-money market.

Business Plan Contest: 15 Years of Building Better Entrepreneurs

by Julia Hanna

Since 1997, Hundreds of student-entrepreneurs have tested their ideas at Harvard Business School's annual Business Plan Contest. Here is what they have learned about success, failure, and themselves. From the HBS Alumni Bulletin. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

HBS Faculty Views on Debt Crisis

by Staff

In the midst of the US debt crisis, Harvard Business School faculty offer their views on what went wrong and what needs to be done to right the US ship of state. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

From SpinPop to SpinBrush: Entrepreneurial Lessons from John Osher

by Dennis Fisher

At a panel discussion on entrepreneurship, professor William A. Sahlman and several successful start-up veterans discussed the case of John Osher, father of Dr. John's Products, Ltd., and the wildly popular battery-powered toothbrush, the SpinBrush. Key concepts include: Look for gaps in the existing market or product lines to exploit. Anticipate product knockoffs and plan accordingly. Raise money when you don't need it, so you'll have it when you do. Be quick to market with the initial product and improve as you go along. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

Funding Unpredictability Around Stem-Cell Research Inflicts Heavy Cost on Scientific Progress

by William Sahlman

Funding unpredictability in human embryonic stem-cell research inflicts a heavy cost on all scientific progress, says professor William Sahlman. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

HBS Faculty on 2010’s Biggest Business Developments

by Staff

Three Harvard Business School professors—former Medtronic chairman and CEO Bill George, economist and entrepreneurship expert William Sahlman, and innovation and strategy authority Rosabeth Moss Kanter—offer their thoughts on the most significant business and economic developments of 2010. Key concepts include: Social networking is the most significant business development of 2010, says Bill George, noting that some 600 million people are now active on Facebook—and half of them spend at least an hour per day on the site. The problems of the Great Recession continued to dominate the economy in 2010, according to Bill Sahlman, who says that the popular media have grossly underestimated both the current deficit and level of debt in the United States. Rosabeth Kanter points out that new technology shined in 2010, in spite of the world's economic anxieties. She gives kudos to the Apple iPad, which accelerated the trend toward digital content. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

Management and the Financial Crisis (We Have Met the Enemy and He is Us …)

by William A. Sahlman

We have spent the past year mired in a global financial crisis that few saw coming and that will plague us for years to come. Such crises are gut-wrenching. Collectively and individually, we search for causes and solutions. Too often, we look for quick fixes that do long‐term damage, or we put the equivalent of duct tape on obvious problems, missing the true root causes. HBS professor William A. Sahlman argues that the macroeconomic problems were the result of terrible microeconomic decisions. The root cause of bad decision‐making resides in the nexus of culture, incentives, control and measurement, accounting, and human capital. We now have a unique opportunity to force a review of all the players in the financial system, from individual consumers to politicians and regulators to management teams at financial services firms. Key concepts include: Management needs a new kind of comprehensive analysis monitor. The new entity would take an objective, hard‐nosed look at major financial services firms on a holistic basis. The new monitor would learn from working with many players in an industry. Auditing the best and worst firms would create powerful tools for improving practice. Beyond introducing this new player to the broad system of corporate governance, the most important and most difficult changes are those required of managers, who must look hard at risk and reward. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

Updating a Classic: Writing a Great Business Plan

by Sean Silverthorne

Harvard Business School professor William A. Sahlman's article on how to write a great business plan is a Harvard Business Review classic, and has just been reissued in book form. We asked Sahlman what he would change if he wrote the article, now a decade old, today. Key concepts include: A business plan can't be a tightly crafted prediction of the future but rather a depiction of how events might unfold and a road map for change. The people making the forecasts are more important than the numbers themselves. What matters is having all the required ingredients (or a road map for getting them), not the exact form of communication. The best money comes from customers, not external investors. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

Venture Capital

by Josh Lerner

Professor Josh Lerner provides a summary report on the recently held HBS Centennial colloquium on venture capital. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

VCs Survey Post-Bubble Opportunities

by Julie Hanna

At the annual Cyberposium conference held at Harvard Business School, venture capitalists pondered what makes for winners and losers in the new VC landscape. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

The VC Quandary: Too Much Money

by Julie Jette

The VC money "overhang" continues as investors compete to get into a small number of deals each year. How do smart venture firms approach the challenge? A report from the 11th Annual Venture Capital & Private Equity Conference. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

Why Expensing Options Doesn’t Solve the Problem

by William Sahlman

Stock options for executives have certainly been abused, but reforms requiring companies to expense option grants on their financial statements don't solve the fundamental problems, argues Harvard Business School professor William A. Sahlman. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

Who Wants to Be an Entrepreneur? [Part II]

by John S. Rosenberg

People are buzzing about two classes at HBS that showcase the School's new approach to teaching management. Hear from the instructors who lead them and alumni who took the plunge. John S. Rosenberg takes you there in this article from Harvard Magazine. Part two. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

Want to Be an Entrepreneur? [Part I]

by John S. Rosenberg

Visit two classes that showcase HBS's new approach to teaching management, and hear from alumni who took the plunge. John S. Rosenberg sorts it all out in this article from Harvard Magazine. Part one of a two-part series. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

The Entrepreneurial Venture: A Conversation

by Susan Young

Twenty-five years after graduation, four members of the HBS Class of '75 reflect on the enterprising spirit that has characterized both their generation and their own careers. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

Market Makers Bid for Success

by Staff

Two CEOs at the forefront of the transformation in the way businesses buy and sell goods—Scott Randall of FairMarket (HBS MBA '87) and Glen Meakem of FreeMarkets (HBS MBA '91—spoke with Professor Bill Sahlman recently about their paths to new business models and what they've learned along the way. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

How to Write a Great Business Plan

Re: William A. Sahlman

HBS Professor William Sahlman tells entrepreneurs how to give themselves a better shot at success. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.