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Financing Entrepreneurial Experimentation

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  • Ramana Nanda
  • Matthew Rhodes-Kropf

Abstract

The fundamental uncertainty of new technologies at their earliest stages implies that it is virtually impossible to know the true potential of a venture without learning about its viability through a sequence of investments over time. We show how this process of experimentation can be particularly valuable in the context of entrepreneurship because most new ventures fail completely, and only a few become extremely successful. We also shed light on important costs to this process of experimentation, and demonstrate how these can fundamentally alter both the rate and direction of startup innovation across industries, regions and periods of time.

Suggested Citation

  • Ramana Nanda & Matthew Rhodes-Kropf, 2015. "Financing Entrepreneurial Experimentation," NBER Working Papers 21278, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:21278
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    Cited by:

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    2. Abraham K. Song, 2019. "The Digital Entrepreneurial Ecosystem—a critique and reconfiguration," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 53(3), pages 569-590, October.
    3. Kotchen, Matthew J. & Costello, Christopher, 2018. "Maximizing the impact of climate finance: Funding projects or pilot projects?," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 270-281.
    4. Zoltan J. Acs & Abraham K. Song & László Szerb & David B. Audretsch & Éva Komlósi, 2021. "The evolution of the global digital platform economy: 1971–2021," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(4), pages 1629-1659, December.
    5. Sharon Belenzon & Victor Manuel Bennett & Andrea Patacconi, 2019. "Flexible Production and Entry: Institutional, Technological, and Organizational Determinants," Strategy Science, INFORMS, vol. 4(3), pages 193-216, September.
    6. Matthias van den Heuvel & David Popp, 2022. "The Role of Venture Capital and Governments in Clean Energy: Lessons from the First Cleantech Bubble," CESifo Working Paper Series 9684, CESifo.
    7. van den Heuvel, Matthias & Popp, David, 2023. "The role of venture capital and governments in clean energy: lessons from the first cleantech bubble," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    8. Sharon Belenzon & Victor Manuel Bennett & Andrea Patacconi, 2019. "Flexible Production and Entry: Institutional, Technological, and Organizational Determinants," NBER Working Papers 25659, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Erin L. Scott & Pian Shu & Roman M. Lubynsky, 2020. "Entrepreneurial Uncertainty and Expert Evaluation: An Empirical Analysis," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(3), pages 1278-1299, March.
    10. Yang, Lisha & Ni, Mengying, 2022. "Is financial development beneficial to improve the efficiency of green development? Evidence from the “Belt and Road” countries," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    11. Ajay Agrawal & Christian Catalini & Avi Goldfarb & Hong Luo, 2018. "Slack Time and Innovation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 29(6), pages 1056-1073, December.
    12. Erin L. Scott & Pian Shu & Roman M. Lubynsky, 2015. "Are “Better” Ideas More Likely to Succeed? An Empirical Analysis of Startup Evaluation," Harvard Business School Working Papers 16-013, Harvard Business School.
    13. Lo, Andrew W. & Thakor, Richard T., 2023. "Financial intermediation and the funding of biomedical innovation: A review," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    14. Onesun Steve Yoo & Tingliang Huang & Kenan Arifoğlu, 2021. "A Theoretical Analysis of the Lean Start-up Method," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 40(3), pages 395-412, May.
    15. Sandeep D. Pillai & Brent Goldfarb & David A. Kirsch, 2020. "The origins of firm strategy: Learning by economic experimentation and strategic pivots in the early automobile industry," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(3), pages 369-399, March.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • G24 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Investment Banking; Venture Capital; Brokerage
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives

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