Neal Podhuturi
Pronouns:
Research Mentor(s): Emmanuel Yimfor
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Finance / Business
Program: UROPF
Session: Session 2 (10:00am – 10:50am)
Authors: Neal Podhuturi
Abstract
VC relations are in many cases a defining factor in a company’s success. Whether an entrepreneur can raise proper funding or not is crucial for a startup. Being such an important aspect of entrepreneurial success, it is important to identify and understand what variables can contribute to successful funding. One in three deals in the venture capital market involves an investor and founder from the same alma mater. From this research, we suspect alumni relationships among entrepreneurs and VC firms affect funding. Another aspect that may affect VC funding is an entrepreneur’s race. In both instances, we identified entrepreneurs who attended a university in the United States and whose companies are included in the LinkedIn Companies Dataset. After creating a list of such entrepreneurs, we collected data on their backgrounds, specifically what college they attended and their race. Afterward, we will compare this data to the amount of funding raised from firms and try to discover correlations between these variables. We have discovered there is a positive correlation between funding and alumni connections. We expect to see a relationship between race and the amount of funding received through VC firms. Studies have already shown that there is a large correlation between race and the amount of funding raised by entrepreneurs in America. This research will shed light on the effect race and alumni connections can have on one’s success in the VC funding market, and ultimately overall company success.
