Publications
Publications
- November 2012
- HBS Case Collection
Tracy Palandjian at Social Finance US (A)
By: Alnoor Ebrahim, Catherine Clark and Beth Bafford
Abstract
It had been eighteen months since Tracy Palandjian had left her position as a managing director at The Parthenon Group to start an ambitious venture called Social Finance US. With a mission "to mobilize investment capital to drive social change," her new organization sought to bring together a range of key players — private investors, government, and nonprofit service providers — in order to solve difficult social problems. Its core innovation was the social impact bond, a mechanism that sought to tap private capital to produce measurable benefits for society. The fear of failure weighed heavily on Palandjian. It had been difficult enough to leave a successful and stable career for the uncertainty of a startup, while raising three young children. Now the stakes were even higher. Could she get enough private investors on board? Could she convince the government and nonprofits to test this new investment instrument? And did she have the right team to actually pull it off?
Keywords
Citation
Ebrahim, Alnoor, Catherine Clark, and Beth Bafford. "Tracy Palandjian at Social Finance US (A)." Harvard Business School Case 313-094, November 2012.