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  • 2022
  • Working Paper

Failing Just Fine: Assessing Careers of Venture Capital-backed Entrepreneurs via a Non-wage Measure

By: Natee Amornsiripanitch, Paul Gompers, George Hu, Will Levinson and Vladimir Mukharlyamov
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:69
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Abstract

This paper proposes a non-pecuniary measure of career achievement, Seniority. Based on a database of over 5 million resumes, this metric exploits the variation in job titles and how long they take to attain. When non-monetary factors influence career choice, inference benefits from the use of non-wage measures, such as seniority. We apply it to study labor market outcomes of VC-backed entrepreneurs. Would-be founders experience accelerated career trajectories prior to founding, significantly outperforming graduates of same-tier colleges with similar first jobs. After exiting their start-ups, they obtain jobs about three years more senior than their right-before-founding peers. Even failed founders land jobs with higher seniority than those attained by their peers in the meantime.

Keywords

Career Outcomes; Founders; Personal Development and Career; Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship

Citation

Amornsiripanitch, Natee, Paul Gompers, George Hu, Will Levinson, and Vladimir Mukharlyamov. "Failing Just Fine: Assessing Careers of Venture Capital-backed Entrepreneurs via a Non-wage Measure." NBER Working Paper Series, No. 30179, June 2022.
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About The Author

Paul A. Gompers

Finance
→More Publications

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