Cold Call

Harvard Business Review
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Cold Call Podcast

Cold Call distills Harvard Business School's legendary case studies into podcast form. Hosted by Brian Kenny, the podcast airs every two weeks and features Harvard Business School faculty discussing cases they've written and the lessons they impart.

  1. 2 DAYS AGO

    Fawn Weaver’s Entrepreneurial Journey as an Outsider in the Spirits Industry

    In 2017 Fawn Weaver launched a premium American whiskey brand, Uncle Nearest. It became the fastest growing and most awarded whiskey brand in America, despite the challenges Weaver faced as a Black woman and outsider to the spirits industry, which is capital-intensive, highly regulated, competitive, and male-dominated. In October 2023, Weaver announced plans to expand into cognac with the goal of building the next major alcoholic beverages conglomerate. But the company was still heavily reliant on capital. How could Weaver convince new investors that her plans for cognac would yield success?

    25 min

  2. 3 SEPT

    How the U.S. Government Is Innovating in Its Efforts to Fund Semiconductor Manufacturing

    In February 2023, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo was deciding whether or not to sign off on a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for $39 billion in direct semiconductor manufacturing incentives. But this NOFO had several unconventional provisions: a pre-application (pre-app) to the actual application, upside sharing provisions to align incentives, and funding milestones so that only awardees making progress would receive additional funds. The funding had been made available through the U.S. Department of Commerce by the CHIPS (Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors) and Science Act passed a few months earlier. Raimondo’s team had proposed additional measures that would help the U.S. regain technological leadership while protecting taxpayer funds. Should Raimondo move forward with the “innovative” NOFO, despite the risks?

    29 min

  3. 20 AUG

    Angel City Football Club: A New Business Model for Women’s Sports

    Angel City Football Club (ACFC) was founded in 2020 by venture capitalist Kara Nortman, entrepreneur Julie Uhrman, and actor and activist Natalie Portman. As outsiders to professional sports, the all-female founding team had rewritten the playbook for how to build a sports franchise by applying lessons from the tech and entertainment industries. The club’s early success was reflected in its market valuation of $250 million as of its sale in July 2024 — the highest in the National Women’s Soccer League. Equally important, ACFC had started to bend the curve toward greater pay equity in women’s sports — the club’s ultimate goal. But the founders knew there was much more to do to capitalize on the club’s momentum. As they developed ACFC’s first three-year strategic plan in 2024, they weighed the most effective ways to build value for the franchise. Was it better to allocate the incremental budget to investments in digital brand building or to investments in the on-field product?

    31 min

  4. 6 AUG

    How EdTech Firm Coursera Is Incorporating GenAI into Its Products and Services

    In early 2023, Jeff Maggioncalda, CEO of Coursera, started developing the EdTech firm’s strategy for incorporating GenAI into their offerings. By early 2024, the firm had made significant progress in bringing four key capabilities to market, but GenAI was evolving quickly and Coursera needed to continuously improve its offerings. While the firm had been an early mover, competitors were adapting fast. Was Coursera taking full advantage of the opportunities presented by the technology? What more could it do to remain competitive?

    29 min

  5. 23 JUL

    Transforming the Workplace for People with Disabilities

    Nadine Vogel, Founder and CEO of Springboard Consulting, joins Harvard Business School professor Lakshmi Ramarajan and Harvard Kennedy School professor Hannah Riley Bowles to discuss her experience of starting and scaling a firm that works with Fortune 500 companies on issues related to disability and their workforce, as well as being a caregiver to two children with disabilities.

    28 min

  6. 16 JUL

    Should You Buy a Seasonal Business? (from Think Big, Buy Small)

    Today we’re sharing a special episode from Think Big, Buy Small, the new podcast from Harvard Business School. Think Big, Buy Small explores an innovative approach to entrepreneurship: acquisition entrepreneurship with conversations exploring how to buy your own business, be your own boss, and get the financial benefits of your efforts through the approach of entrepreneurship through acquisition In this episode, HBS Professors Richard Ruback and Royce Yudkoff chat with Robin Kovitz, who purchased Baskits—now one of Canada’s leading gift services companies—from its two retiring founders. Kovitz shares insights on her search process, investment criteria, and her perceptions of risk before and after purchasing Baskits. Listen to more episodes of Think Big, Buy Small wherever you get your podcasts.

    36 min

  7. 9 JUL

    Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and Brand Building

    Non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which allow individuals to own their digital assets and move them from place to place, are changing the interaction between consumers and digital goods, brands, and platforms. Harvard Business School professor Scott Duke Kominers and tech entrepreneur Steve Kaczynski discuss the case, “Bored Ape Yacht Club: Navigating the NFT World,” and the related book they co-authored, The Everything Token: How NFTs and Web3 Will Transform The Way We Buy, Sell, And Create. They focus on the rise and popularity of the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs and the new model of brand building created by owning those tokens.

    29 min

  8. 18 JUN

    How Natural Winemaker Frank Cornelissen Innovated While Staying True to His Brand

    In 2018, artisanal Italian vineyard Frank Cornelissen was one of the world’s leading producers of natural wine. But when weather-related conditions damaged that year’s grapes, founder Frank Cornelissen had to decide between staying true to the tenets of natural wine making, or breaking with his public beliefs to save that year’s grapes by adding sulfites. Harvard Business School assistant professor Tiona Zuzul discusses the importance of staying true to your company’s principles while remaining flexible enough to welcome progress.

    21 min
See All (243)

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Hosts & Guests

About

Cold Call distills Harvard Business School's legendary case studies into podcast form. Hosted by Brian Kenny, the podcast airs every two weeks and features Harvard Business School faculty discussing cases they've written and the lessons they impart.

Information

  • Channel
    Harvard Business Review
  • Creator
    HBR Presents / Brian Kenny
  • Years Active
    2016 - 2024
  • Episodes
    243
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2024 President and Fellows of Harvard College
  • Show Website
    Cold Call

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