Does Having a Marketing and Sales Co-Founder Increase the Likelihood of a Start-up Firm Obtaining an External Investment? – MSI

Working Paper

Does Having a Marketing and Sales Co-Founder Increase the Likelihood of a Start-up Firm Obtaining an External Investment?

Ofer Mintz

Peter Lenk

University of Michigan

Yitong Wang

Alibaba Group

Jan 24, 2021

Develops a conceptual model based on signaling theory and role and resource legitimacy to determine whether start-up firms with a co-founder with a marketing and sales (MS) background are preferred by investors over comparable start-up firms with co-founders with different functional backgrounds.

Topics

innovation & new product development Marketing Capabilities

research recap

Do Investors Prefer Start-Ups with Founder Marketing Experience?

Start-up firms whose founders have marketing experience are more likely to receive outside funding, especially from more experienced and entrepreneurial investors. Start-ups should be prepared to deal with less-experienced and more risk-averse personnel who typically screen opportunities for investment firms and who are less likely to understand the value of marketing.

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