Research

Corporate Finance, Entrepreneurial Finance, FinTech, Crowdfunding

Forecasting Success in Equity Crowdfunding (with Peter Roosenboom), 2020, Small Business Economics, 55, 39-56. (Link)

Abstract: This paper analyzes a large dataset of 2171 equity crowdfunding campaigns launched between the years 2012 and 2017 on two of the world’s largest platforms Crowdcube and Seedrs. Our data shows that the equity crowdfunding market has matured: more recent campaigns tend to be launched by larger and older companies with better access to external financing. Given the market’s dynamics, we use a rolling three-year window to forecast funding success and develop a simple model based on information that is available at the time of the campaign (e.g., retained equity, external fundraising before the campaign, accelerator attendance, and information about the directors’ team). Our proposed forecasting method can be beneficial to both platforms and entrepreneurs for improving outcomes on the equity crowdfunding market.

Equity Crowdfunding Investors (Job Market Paper), last version January 2020.

Abstract: Equity crowdfunding is unique in that it carries the potential to be a democratizing force in finance and investment by allowing for a very heterogeneous crowd of investors to participate in the funding of innovative businesses. The goal of this paper is to shed light on this subject by revealing the investment patterns of equity crowdfunding investors who pledge funds on one of the largest investment-based platforms in the United Kingdom, Crowdcube. Our sample consists of 22,830 unique investors who made 43,770 investments in 252 equity crowdfunded companies. We find that the crowd is comprised of both businesses and individuals, who invest diverse amounts, hold different size portfolios and adopt various investment strategies. We define five main types of investors and identify the unique role each type plays for facilitating financing on Crowdcube.

The Role of Certification for Equity Crowdfunding Success (with Peter Roosenboom).

Abstract: This paper applies certification theory to the context of equity crowdfunding in an attempt to highlight the important role of prominent third parties for reducing information problems and facilitating funding success. Specifically, we analyze whether, by certifying venture quality, professional investors, grants, prestigious awards and strategic partners influence the crowd’s decision to invest on the world’s largest equity crowdfunding platform Crowdcube. Our results from a sample of 541 campaigns, launched between 2012 and March 2015, suggest that investors significantly rely on the due diligence efforts of these more experienced and more knowledgeable actors.

Winner of the Best PhD Paper Award, 14th Corporate Finance Day, KU Leuven, Antwerp, Belgium (2016)

The Crowd-Entrepreneur Relationship in Startup Financing (with Thomas Lambert and Peter Roosenboom), 2018, in Douglas Cumming and Lars Hornuf, eds.: The Economics of Crowdfunding: Startups, Portals, and Investor Behavior (Palgrave Macmillan). (Link)