We examine the effect of a competitive supply of venture capital (VC) on the exits (IPO or M&A) of startups. We develop a matching model with double-sided moral hazard, and identify a novel differential effect of VC competition on the success of startups. Using VC data, we find evidence for this...

The past decade saw the rise of both “founder-friendly” venture financings and non-traditional investors, frequently with liquidity constraints. Using detailed contract data, we study open-end mutual funds investing in private venture-backed firms. We posit an interaction between the classic...

We use actual negotiations between angel investors and entrepreneurs to study the impact of personal characteristics on investment outcomes. We construct a unique dataset with 707 investment requests led by 1,089 entrepreneurs and find that the personal characteristics of the entrepreneur,...

This paper explores how prominent VCs affect CEO replacement in startups. Defining prominence using eigenvector centrality, we employ matching methods and instrumental variables to show that startup CEO replacement occurs more often, and faster, when prominent VCs participate. We further explore...

This paper studies how critical entrepreneurial finance outcomes such as the investment return and equity division are shaped by venture characteristics, financier risk preferences and competitive searching. Our analysis uses a double-hazard agency model in which financiers determine the equity...

Angel investors go by many definitions. By all definitions, though, angel investors collectively invest at least billions of dollars in thousands of fledgling companies and entrepreneurial projects annually. This paper describes angel investors and their investments, with special attention to...

There is something special about venture capital. And this “special something” goes beyond the large financial returns that can come from investing in successful start-ups. At its core, venture capital is about identifying the life-changing innovations of tomorrow and then facilitating the...

The market for secondary venture capital transactions provides a way for investors to obtain liquidity if the investee start-up corporation has not yet reached sufficient maturity for an IPO. It also creates divestment opportunities for badly performing ventures that investors would rather...

Empirically, VC-backed startups have higher early growth rates and patenting levels than non-VC-backed ones. Venture capitalists increase a startup's likelihood of reaching the right tails of the firm size and innovation distributions. Furthermore, outcomes are better for startups matched with...

The Capital Markets Union (CMU) aims to strengthen capital markets and investments in the EU. In the context of innovative SMEs (start-ups and scale-ups), the CMU's goal is to make more "venture capital" available to these businesses. However, greater volumes of available venture capital can...