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  • 2022
  • Working Paper
  • HBS Working Paper Series

Do Startups Benefit from Their Investors' Reputation? Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment

By: Shai Benjamin Bernstein, Kunal Mehta, Richard Townsend and Ting Xu
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
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Abstract

We analyze a field experiment conducted on AngelList Talent, a large online search platform for startup jobs. In the experiment, AngelList randomly informed job seekers of whether a startup was funded by a top-tier investor and/or was funded recently. We find that the same startup receives significantly more interest when information about top-tier investors is provided. Information about recent funding has no effect. The effect of top-tier investors is not driven by low-quality candidates and is stronger for earlier-stage startups. The results show that venture capitalists can add value passively, simply by attaching their names to startups.

Keywords

Startup Labor Market; Investors; Randomized Field Experiment; Certification Effect; Venture Capital; Business Startups; Human Capital; Job Search; Reputation

Citation

Bernstein, Shai Benjamin, Kunal Mehta, Richard Townsend, and Ting Xu. "Do Startups Benefit from Their Investors' Reputation? Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 22-060, February 2022.
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About The Author

Shai Benjamin Bernstein

Entrepreneurial Management
→More Publications

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