Effects of Socioeconomic Background on Entrepreneurial Funding

Whose problems do investors see as worth solving? I experimentally study how investors evaluate a startup idea based on the socioeconomic background of the founder, the target customer, and the (in)congruence between the two. I am also interested in how the socioeconomic background of investors themselves affect these evaluations. I aim to contribute to the research on diversity and inequality in entrepreneurial funding in which socioeconomic backgrounds have been relatively understudied. I also provide implications on whose problems are deemed worthy of resources, and how to support the missing entrepreneurs from underprivileged backgrounds.

Jean Joohyun Oh is part of IGL's Research Network