What does a Harvard case study presentation look like?

It follows the written case. A title names the company and its question, a slide sets out the protagonist's dilemma, then come numbered exhibits with sources, discussion questions and takeaways. The prompt encodes that order and the exhibit format, so each slide reads as part of one case.

What fonts and colors does Harvard Style use?

Titles, quotes and numerals use Alegreya; body text, tables and charts use Alegreya Sans. The palette is white #ffffff, #1e1e1e headings, #3d3d3d body text, crimson #a51c30 for the left-edge bar and the key data series, and slate #8996a0 and #bac5c6 for supporting bars.

How should exhibits be numbered and sourced?

Number them in order from Exhibit 1 and put the unit in parentheses after the title, such as '($ thousands)'. Add a source note under each one, for example 'Source: Company documents; casewriter estimates.' If the AI drops a source line, ask it to add one before you move on.

Can I use it for a class presentation that is not about business?

Yes. The dilemma, exhibit and discussion structure works for policy, law, history and science cases. Swap the financial table for the evidence your case rests on, and keep the numbered exhibits and the question slide.

Case 9-726-041

Lumen Robotics: scaling beyond the pilot

Q: Is this affiliated with Harvard University or Harvard Business School?

No. Harvard Style is an unofficial homage to the published case method format. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Harvard University or Harvard Business School, and the prompt bans the Veritas shield and any university logo.

Case discussion for Strategy 1, Session 14

Prepared by Professor Miriam Adeyemi and casewriter Jonas Lindqvist

October 2026

Okafor's decision, March 2026

“We proved the robots work in one warehouse. Now I have to decide whether one customer should own our next two years.”

Dana Okafor, cofounder and chief executive, Lumen Robotics

Should Lumen accept Harlow Logistics' $38M exclusive rollout across 40 warehouses, or keep selling to the eleven retailers in its pipeline?

Harlow wants an answer by Friday.

Strategy 1: Session 142

Growth arrived before profit did

Exhibit 2Lumen Robotics selected financials, 2021 to 2025 ($ thousands unless noted)

20212022202320242025

Revenue4101,2803,9607,45012,830

Gross margin (%)18.224.531.036.841.3

Research and development2,1003,4005,2006,9008,100

Operating income(3,900)(5,700)(6,800)(6,100)(3,900)

Robots deployed1238104196318

Paying customers12467

Source: Company documents; casewriter estimates.

Strategy 1: Session 143

One customer already pays for more than half the company

Exhibit 5Revenue by customer, 2025 ($ millions)

Harlow Logistics

7.1

Brightway Grocers

2.2

Castell Home

1.4

Pinecrest Pharma

0.9

Three other customers

1.2

55%

of 2025 revenue came from Harlow, up from 31% in 2023

Source: Company documents. Total 2025 revenue: $12.8 million.

Strategy 1: Session 144

For class discussion

Prepare all four. We will take them in order.

What has the Harlow pilot actually proven, and what has it left untested?

How would an exclusive deal change Lumen's bargaining power by 2028?

Build the case for the multi-customer path. What must be true for it to win?

What should Okafor tell Harlow on Friday, and why?

Strategy 1: Session 145

What the case teaches

Anchor customers buy your roadmap¹

Early design partners shape what gets built. The real question is whether their needs generalize to the next buyer.

Concentration moves the bargaining power²

Once one buyer passes half of revenue, every pricing talk starts from their alternatives, not yours.

Sequencing can beat choosing³

A time-limited or regional exclusivity can capture the scale without giving up the rest of the market.

1. E. von Hippel, “Lead Users: A Source of Novel Product Concepts,” Management Science 32, no. 7 (1986).

2. M. E. Porter, “How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy,” Harvard Business Review (March 1979).

3. Casewriter analysis of Lumen Robotics term sheets, 2026.

Strategy 1: Session 146

Title · slide 1 of 616:9 · PowerPoint, Google Slides & Keynote

About this design

Where the Harvard Style style comes from, and what it signals.

Harvard Style takes its structure from the written business school case. A case opens on a protagonist with a decision and a deadline, puts the facts in numbered exhibits, and leaves the answer to the room. This deck runs in that order: title, dilemma, exhibits, discussion questions, takeaways. It is an unofficial homage to the Harvard Business School case method, with no affiliation, license or endorsement from Harvard University.

Slides are white #ffffff with #1e1e1e headings and #3d3d3d body text. Crimson #a51c30 shows up in two places: a 6px bar down the left edge, and the one data series that matters in each exhibit. Slate #8996a0 and #bac5c6 fill the supporting bars. Titles, pull quotes and question numerals use Alegreya, a calligraphic book serif, and everything else uses Alegreya Sans. Each exhibit gets a crimson 'Exhibit 3' label, a unit in parentheses and a source note, as in a printed case appendix.

Use it when you want the room to argue: a case you teach, a case competition, an MBA class presentation, a research talk that lays out evidence first. The dilemma slide puts the protagonist's own words above the decision question, and it sets up the discussion that follows.

Use it for

Business school case study presentations and case competition decks
Teaching slides for a class discussion run on the case method
MBA and executive education presentations with numbered exhibits
Academic research talks that present evidence before the conclusion
Strategy memos turned into slides for a decision meeting

Skip it for

Consulting readouts that open with the answer; McKinsey Style or Bain Style lead with the recommendation
Lectures that need a softer, more visual register; Atrium or Seminar suit a general classroom
Clinical case presentations with labs and vitals; Grand Rounds follows that order

The presentation design prompt

This is the exact text that gets sent to your AI.

Create a presentation in the 'Harvard Style' theme, an unofficial homage to the business school case method, where a deck is built like a written case: a protagonist, a decision, numbered exhibits and questions for class. Background: white (#ffffff) on every slide. Typography: 'Alegreya' (Google Fonts) for titles, pull quotes and large numerals, 500 to 700 weight, sentence case, 30 to 36px on content slides and 48 to 56px on the title slide; 'Alegreya Sans' for body text at 15 to 18px, table cells, chart labels and footers. Headings #1e1e1e, body #3d3d3d, muted notes #6f6a66. The signature: a 6px crimson (#a51c30) vertical bar runs the full height of the left edge on every slide, and it is the only crimson structure in the deck. Title slide: the case title as 'Company: the question it faces', a small case number such as 'Case 9-726-041' in #6f6a66, then the course, the authors and the date, all left-aligned under a 64px wide 2px crimson rule. Dilemma slide: the protagonist's words as a large Alegreya italic pull quote (26 to 30px) with name and role beneath in Alegreya Sans, then the decision question in a box with a 1px #d9d6d2 border and a 3px #a51c30 left border on #f3f3f1. Exhibits are formatted like case appendices: an 'Exhibit 3' label in Alegreya Sans 600 13px #a51c30 on the same line as the exhibit title in #1e1e1e, the unit in parentheses, and a source note beneath in 11px #6f6a66 italic, such as 'Source: Company documents; casewriter estimates.' Exhibits are numbered in order through the deck. Tables: header row in Alegreya Sans 600 over a 1.5px #1e1e1e rule, 1px #d9d6d2 row rules, right-aligned tabular numerals, losses in parentheses, the latest year column on #f3f3f1. Charts: horizontal or vertical bars with the series that matters in #a51c30 and context in #bac5c6, #8996a0 or #1e1e1e, value labels at bar ends, no gridlines or legends. Discussion questions: four numbered questions in the order the class will take them, numerals in Alegreya 700 crimson at 28px. Takeaway slide: three columns separated by 1px #d9d6d2 rules, each a short serif heading and two sentences, with superscript citation marks and footnotes in 11px #6f6a66. Footer on every content slide: a 1px #d9d6d2 rule, the course and session such as 'Strategy 1: Session 14' bottom-left and the page number bottom-right, both 11px #6f6a66. Strictly avoid: the Veritas shield or any university logo, claiming affiliation with Harvard University or Harvard Business School, crimson backgrounds or crimson washes on content slides, gradients, drop shadows, stock photos of campuses or people, decorative icons, centered body text, bullet walls, unnumbered or unsourced exhibits, rounded cards, more than one crimson highlight per chart.

Use this theme for my slides. Ask me what the presentation is about first, then apply the theme to every slide.

View this prompt and its data on GitHub

How to use this prompt

From copied text to a finished Harvard Style deck in four moves.

01
Copy the prompt
Use the copy button, or open it pre-filled in Claude or ChatGPT with one click from the panel on this page.
02
Tell the AI your topic
The prompt instructs the AI to ask what your presentation is about first. A sentence or a pasted outline is enough.
03
Generate and iterate
Ask for more slides or swap a layout. The avoid list at the end of the prompt keeps Harvard Style on-style while the content changes.
04
Or skip straight to a deck
SlideSpeak turns your topic or document into a finished Harvard Style presentation, exportable as PowerPoint or PDF.

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Harvard Style

A Harvard case study presentation prompt built on the case method: a protagonist's dilemma, numbered exhibits with source notes, discussion questions and a single crimson bar on white. Use it for a class discussion, a case competition or an academic talk. An unofficial homage to the Harvard Business School case format. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Harvard University or Harvard Business School.

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