FIN 588 | Session 6 | The Cross-Section of Bank Value - 2022

Mark Egan, Stefan Lewellen, Adi Sunderam

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We study the determinants of value creation in U.S. commercial banks. We develop novel measures of individual banks' productivities at collecting deposits and making loans that we relate to bank market values. We find that deposit productivity accounts for two-thirds of the value of the median bank and most of the variation in value across banks. Variation in productivity is driven by differences across banks in technology, customer demographics, and market power. We also find evidence of synergies between deposit-taking and lending. Our findings suggest that there is significant heterogeneity in banks' ability to capture value by manufacturing safe assets.

ENTR 820 | Session 5 | Developing an Innovation Strategy

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ENTR 502 | Session 5 | The Business Model Canvas Strategy

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ENTR 820 | Session 4 | Architectures of Service Innovation

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ENTR 502 | Session 4 | Value Proposition, Product Development, and the Customer

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The process of value proposition design focuses on discovering and creating unique benefits for customers by identifying the specific "jobs" they "hire" products to perform in their lives. Using tools like the Value Proposition Canvas, businesses can systematically map customer profiles—including their tasks, pains, and desired gains—against a value map to achieve precise product-market fit. To validate these assumptions effectively, entrepreneurs should build a Minimum Viable Business Product (MVBP), the simplest version of a product designed to test value and secure payment while initiating an iterative feedback loop. Techniques such as "concierging" allow teams to provide personalized, hands-on support to understand unique requirements and "fake it" behind the scenes without initially overspending on complex technology. Finally, a structured Product Plan ensures long-term success by outlining how to expand from an initial beachhead market into adjacent areas, balancing functional enhancements with high-quality releases to achieve a sustainable business model fit.

ENTR 820 | Session 3 | Innovation in Context: Driving Change and Market Evolution

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Innovation is propelled by a multifaceted interplay of contextual drivers, including financial pressures for efficiency, shifting demographic and market trends, and the rapid advancement of technologies such as AI and robotics. While businesses often innovate to meet rising consumer expectations, regulatory standards, or shorter product life cycles, highly risky and expensive ventures with no immediate return on investment—such as early space exploration—are typically pioneered by governments rather than private capital, which requires a proven business case. Effective innovation management requires understanding the diffusion process of new ideas, balancing the complexity and risks of new systems, and strategically aligning innovations with a firm's core competencies and 'imitability' to ensure long-term profitability. Ultimately, proactive managerial decision-making and the adoption of models like open innovation are essential for organisations to navigate maturing markets and sustain a competitive advantage in a changing global economy.

ENTR 502 | Session 3 | Venturing from Opportunity to Market Validation

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Successful entrepreneurship begins with identifying a viable market niche or a specific problem to solve, often rooted in personal passion or experienced pain points. Centring a business on customer needs—including functional, emotional, and social requirements—is critical for driving innovation, fostering loyalty, and sustaining long-term growth. Identifying these needs requires a combination of market research, analyzing existing data, soliciting direct feedback, and monitoring social media trends to understand the "who, what, and why" of consumer behaviour. Modern businesses can significantly enhance this process by leveraging machine learning and AI tools to automate routine tasks, perform sentiment analysis, and gain deeper consumer insights at scale. To stand out in competitive markets, founders must articulate a clear product vision and positioning statement that defines their unique benefit and differentiation from existing alternatives. Finally, adopting a Lean Startup approach—prioritising "validated learning" through the build-measure-learn feedback loop—allows entrepreneurs to iterate products rapidly and pivot when necessary to avoid wasting resources on solutions that do not meet market demand

FIN 588 | Session 5 | Roche's Acquisition of Genentech - 2026

In 2008, the Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche proposed acquiring the remaining 44% of its fiercely independent biotech subsidiary, Genentech, offering $89 per share in a deal valued at approximately $100 billion.

This strategic move was designed to reduce operational overlap, secure unfettered access to Genentech's substantial free cash flow, and protect Roche's access to an innovative drug pipeline before a key licensing agreement expired in 2015.

However, the acquisition faced a significant valuation impasse when Genentech's special committee rejected the offer as inadequate, countered with a price of $112 to $115 per share, and refused to negotiate downward despite the burgeoning 2008 global financial crisis.

Roche's leadership, including Franz Humer and Severin Schwan, had to navigate the extreme difficulty of securing $44 billion in debt financing during a worldwide credit freeze while fearing that a hostile tender offer might alienate the star scientists and managers central to Genentech's success.