IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/intemj/v15y2019i4d10.1007_s11365-019-00588-3.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Keys to success in investment rounds by immigrant entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley

Author

Listed:
  • Rosa M. Yagüe-Perales

    (University of Valencia)

  • Pau Perez-Ledo

    (Polytechnic University of Valencia)

  • Isidre March-Chordà

    (University of Valencia)

Abstract

This study presents an updated diagnosis of the SV ecosystem itself and offers an insight into the entrepreneurial mobility trends prospects and expectations of the growing number of start-ups launched by immigrant entrepreneurs arriving in SV. The purpose is to determine and rank the attributes most valued by investors when assessing projects and start-ups founded by immigrant entrepreneurs. The model of analysis composed by three hypotheses leads to a series of findings about the profile and expectations of the immigrant entrepreneurs, and reveals remarkable hints and key targets to be met by immigrant entrepreneurs in SV in order to successfully close investment rounds in a hypercompetitive environment. The study discloses the low impact of the founder’s profile as a driver of external investment. A key conclusion states that Venture Capitalists and Business Angels in the top-ranked entrepreneurial ecosystem are primarily led by factors linked to the competitive environment and the product development process, along with the traditional performance indicators: revenue and profitability.

Suggested Citation

  • Rosa M. Yagüe-Perales & Pau Perez-Ledo & Isidre March-Chordà, 2019. "Keys to success in investment rounds by immigrant entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 15(4), pages 1153-1177, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:intemj:v:15:y:2019:i:4:d:10.1007_s11365-019-00588-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s11365-019-00588-3
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11365-019-00588-3
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11365-019-00588-3?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Israel Drori & Benson Honig & Mike Wright, 2009. "Transnational Entrepreneurship: An Emergent Field of Study," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 33(5), pages 1001-1022, September.
    2. Bird, Miriam & Wennberg, Karl, 2016. "Why family matters: The impact of family resources on immigrant entrepreneurs' exit from entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 687-704.
    3. Mike Wright & Xiaohui Liu & Trevor Buck & Igor Filatotchev, 2008. "Returnee Entrepreneurs, Science Park Location Choice and Performance: An Analysis of High–Technology SMEs in China," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 32(1), pages 131-155, January.
    4. Teppo Felin & Nicolai J. Foss & Koen H. Heimeriks & Tammy L. Madsen, 2012. "Microfoundations of Routines and Capabilities: Individuals, Processes, and Structure," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(8), pages 1351-1374, December.
    5. Ratan J. S. Dheer, 2018. "Entrepreneurship by immigrants: a review of existing literature and directions for future research," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 14(3), pages 555-614, September.
    6. P Cooke & M G Uranga & G Etxebarria, 1998. "Regional Systems of Innovation: An Evolutionary Perspective," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 30(9), pages 1563-1584, September.
    7. Saras Sarasvathy & Anil Menon & Graciela Kuechle, 2013. "Failing firms and successful entrepreneurs: serial entrepreneurship as a temporal portfolio," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 40(2), pages 417-434, February.
    8. Sampsa Samila & Olav Sorenson, 2011. "Venture Capital, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Growth," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 93(1), pages 338-349, February.
    9. Lloyd L. Wong & Michele Ng, 2002. "The emergence of small transnational enterprise in Vancouver: the case of Chinese entrepreneur immigrants," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(3), pages 508-530, September.
    10. Jennifer M. Sequeira & Jon C. Carr & Abdul A. Rasheed, 2009. "Transnational Entrepreneurship: Determinants of Firm Type and Owner Attributions of Success," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 33(5), pages 1023-1044, September.
    11. Bengtsson, Ola & Hsu, David H., 2015. "Ethnic matching in the U.S. venture capital market," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 338-354.
    12. Dirk De Clercq & Dominic S.K. Lim & Chang Hoon Oh, 2013. "Individual–Level Resources and New Business Activity: The Contingent Role of Institutional Context," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 37(2), pages 303-330, March.
    13. Bertoni, Fabio & Colombo, Massimo G. & Grilli, Luca, 2011. "Venture capital financing and the growth of high-tech start-ups: Disentangling treatment from selection effects," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(7), pages 1028-1043, September.
    14. Douglas, Evan J., 2013. "Reconstructing entrepreneurial intentions to identify predisposition for growth," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 28(5), pages 633-651.
    15. Hsu, David H., 2007. "Experienced entrepreneurial founders, organizational capital, and venture capital funding," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 722-741, June.
    16. David H. Hsu, 2006. "Venture Capitalists and Cooperative Start-up Commercialization Strategy," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 52(2), pages 204-219, February.
    17. Davidsson, Per & Honig, Benson, 2003. "The role of social and human capital among nascent entrepreneurs," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 301-331, May.
    18. Silvia Marcu, 2016. "Learning Mobility Challenging Borders : Cross-border Experiences of eastern European Immigrants in Spain," Mobilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(3), pages 343-361, July.
    19. Garry D. Bruton & David Ahlstrom & Han–Lin Li, 2010. "Institutional Theory and Entrepreneurship: Where Are We Now and Where Do We Need to Move in the Future?," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 34(3), pages 421-440, May.
    20. Manju Puri & Rebecca Zarutskie, 2012. "On the Life Cycle Dynamics of Venture-Capital- and Non-Venture-Capital-Financed Firms," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 67(6), pages 2247-2293, December.
    21. William R. Kerr, 2013. "U.S. High-Skilled Immigration, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship: Empirical Approaches and Evidence," NBER Working Papers 19377, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    22. Andres Rodriguez-Pose & Riccardo regstdcenzi, 2008. "Research and Development, Spillovers, Innovation Systems, and the Genesis of Regional Growth in Europe," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(1), pages 51-67.
    23. Harry P Bowen & Dirk De Clercq, 2008. "Institutional context and the allocation of entrepreneurial effort," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 39(4), pages 768-768, June.
    24. Colombo, Massimo G. & Grilli, Luca, 2010. "On growth drivers of high-tech start-ups: Exploring the role of founders' human capital and venture capital," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 25(6), pages 610-626, November.
    25. Laura Bottazzi & Marco Da Rin, 2002. "Venture capital in Europe and the financing of innovative companies [‘Robust financial contracting and the role of venture capitalists’]," Economic Policy, CEPR;CES;MSH, vol. 17(34), pages 229-270.
    26. Dirk Czarnitzki & Julie Delanote, 2013. "Young Innovative Companies: the new high-growth firms?," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press, vol. 22(5), pages 1315-1340, October.
    27. AnnaLee Saxenian, 2002. "Silicon Valley’s New Immigrant High-Growth Entrepreneurs," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 16(1), pages 20-31, February.
    28. Faria, Ana Paula & Barbosa, Natália, 2014. "Does venture capital really foster innovation?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 122(2), pages 129-131.
    29. Ucbasaran, Deniz & Alsos, Gry Agnete & Westhead, Paul & Wright, Mike, 2008. "Habitual Entrepreneurs," Foundations and Trends(R) in Entrepreneurship, now publishers, vol. 4(4), pages 309-450, March.
    30. Geronikolaou, George & Papachristou, George, 2008. "Venture Capital and Innovation in Europe," MPRA Paper 36706, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    31. Elicia Maine & Daniel Shapiro & Aidan Vining, 2010. "The role of clustering in the growth of new technology-based firms," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 34(2), pages 127-146, February.
    32. Marc Gruber & Ian C. MacMillan & James D. Thompson, 2008. "Look Before You Leap: Market Opportunity Identification in Emerging Technology Firms," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 54(9), pages 1652-1665, September.
    33. Alessandra Cenci, 2018. "A qualitative viewpoint on the Southern eurozone highly skilled labour mobility in the metropolitan area of Copenhagen in times of crisis and austerity," Mobilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(4), pages 551-568, July.
    34. Colombo, Massimo G. & Grilli, Luca & Piva, Evila, 2006. "In search of complementary assets: The determinants of alliance formation of high-tech start-ups," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(8), pages 1166-1199, October.
    35. Lilien, Gary L., 2016. "The B2B Knowledge Gap," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 543-556.
    36. Kenney, Martin & Patton, Donald, 2015. "Gender, ethnicity and entrepreneurship in initial public offerings: illustrations from an open database," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(9), pages 1773-1784.
    37. Wentao Gu & Xuzheng Qian & Junpeng Lu, 2018. "Venture capital and entrepreneurship: a conceptual model and research suggestions," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 35-50, March.
    38. Chen, Chao C. & Greene, Patricia Gene & Crick, Ann, 1998. "Does entrepreneurial self-efficacy distinguish entrepreneurs from managers?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 295-316, July.
    39. Paul Gompers & Josh Lerner, 2001. "The Venture Capital Revolution," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 15(2), pages 145-168, Spring.
    40. J. Robert Baum & Barbara J. Bird, 2010. "The Successful Intelligence of High-Growth Entrepreneurs: Links to New Venture Growth," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 21(2), pages 397-412, April.
    41. Pekka Stenholm & Zoltán J. Ács & Robert Wuebker, 2015. "Exploring country-level institutional arrangements on the rate and type of entrepreneurial activity," Chapters, in: Global Entrepreneurship, Institutions and Incentives, chapter 20, pages 387-404, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    42. Davila, Antonio & Foster, George & Gupta, Mahendra, 2003. "Venture capital financing and the growth of startup firms," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 18(6), pages 689-708, November.
    43. David M. Hart & Zoltán J. Ács, 2015. "High-Tech Immigrant Entrepreneurship in the United States," Chapters, in: Global Entrepreneurship, Institutions and Incentives, chapter 31, pages 604-617, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    44. Ensley, Michael D. & Pearce, Craig L. & Hmieleski, Keith M., 2006. "The moderating effect of environmental dynamism on the relationship between entrepreneur leadership behavior and new venture performance," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 243-263, March.
    45. Monder Ram & Nicholas Theodorakopoulos & Trevor Jones, 2008. "Forms of capital, mixed embeddedness and Somali enterprise," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 22(3), pages 427-446, September.
    46. Panagiotis Ganotakis, 2012. "Founders’ human capital and the performance of UK new technology based firms," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 39(2), pages 495-515, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Abd Hamid, Hamizah & Pidduck, Robert J. & Newman, Alexander & Ayob, Abu Hanifah & Sidek, Farhana, 2023. "Intercultural resource arbitrageurs: A review and extension of the literature on transnational entrepreneurs," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    2. Barbara Del Bosco & Alice Mazzucchelli & Roberto Chierici & Angelo Di Gregorio, 2021. "Innovative startup creation: the effect of local factors and demographic characteristics of entrepreneurs," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 145-164, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Colombo, Massimo G. & D’Adda, Diego & Pirelli, Lorenzo H., 2016. "The participation of new technology-based firms in EU-funded R&D partnerships: The role of venture capital," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 361-375.
    2. Ratan J. S. Dheer, 2018. "Entrepreneurship by immigrants: a review of existing literature and directions for future research," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 14(3), pages 555-614, September.
    3. Rin, Marco Da & Hellmann, Thomas & Puri, Manju, 2013. "A Survey of Venture Capital Research," Handbook of the Economics of Finance, in: G.M. Constantinides & M. Harris & R. M. Stulz (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Finance, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 573-648, Elsevier.
    4. Pavlova, Elitsa & Signore, Simone, 2019. "The European venture capital landscape: an EIF perspective. Volume V: The economic impact of VC investments supported by the EIF," EIF Working Paper Series 2019/55, European Investment Fund (EIF).
    5. Sari Pekkala Kerr & William R. Kerr, 2016. "Immigrant Entrepreneurship," NBER Chapters, in: Measuring Entrepreneurial Businesses: Current Knowledge and Challenges, pages 187-249, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Anita Quas & Jose Martí & Carmelo Reverte, 2021. "What money cannot buy: a new approach to measure venture capital ability to add non-financial resources," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(3), pages 1361-1382, October.
    7. Bertoni, Fabio & Colombo, Massimo G. & Grilli, Luca, 2011. "Venture capital financing and the growth of high-tech start-ups: Disentangling treatment from selection effects," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(7), pages 1028-1043, September.
    8. Polzin, Friedemann & Sanders, Mark & Stavlöt, Ulrika, 2018. "Do investors and entrepreneurs match? – Evidence from The Netherlands and Sweden," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 112-126.
    9. Croce, Annalisa & Martí, José & Murtinu, Samuele, 2013. "The impact of venture capital on the productivity growth of European entrepreneurial firms: ‘Screening’ or ‘value added’ effect?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 489-510.
    10. Schmutzler, Jana & Andonova, Veneta & Díaz Serrano, Lluís, 2015. "When culture does (not) matter: role models and self-efficacy as drivers of entrepreneurial behavior," Working Papers 2072/247806, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Department of Economics.
    11. Sari Pekkala Kerr & William R. Kerr, 2016. "Immigrant Entrepreneurship," NBER Chapters, in: Measuring Entrepreneurial Businesses: Current Knowledge and Challenges, pages 187-249, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Bogatyreva, K. & Shirokova, G. & Osiyevskyy, O., 2016. "Intention-behavior translation in student entrepreneurship: An institutional perspective," Working Papers 6455, Graduate School of Management, St. Petersburg State University.
    13. Honjo, Yuji, 2021. "The impact of founders’ human capital on initial capital structure: Evidence from Japan," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    14. Siddharth Vedula & Markus Fitza, 2019. "Regional Recipes: A Configurational Analysis of the Regional Entrepreneurial Ecosystem for U.S. Venture Capital-Backed Startups," Strategy Science, INFORMS, vol. 4(1), pages 4-24, March.
    15. Bonini, Stefano & Capizzi, Vincenzo & Zocchi, Paola, 2019. "The performance of angel-backed companies," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 328-345.
    16. repec:zbw:bofrdp:2016_033 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Bronzini, Raffaello & Caramellino, Gianpaolo & Magri, Silvia, 2020. "Venture capitalists at work: A diff-in-diff approach at late-stages of the screening process," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 35(3).
    18. Jana Schmutzler & Veneta Andonova & Luis Diaz-Serrano, 2019. "How Context Shapes Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy as a Driver of Entrepreneurial Intentions: A Multilevel Approach," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 43(5), pages 880-920, September.
    19. Jan Wiers & Didier Chabaud, 2022. "Bibliometric analysis of immigrant entrepreneurship research 2009–2019," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 12(1), pages 441-464, December.
    20. R. Sandra Schillo & Ajax Persaud & Meng Jin, 2016. "Entrepreneurial readiness in the context of national systems of entrepreneurship," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 46(4), pages 619-637, April.
    21. Mayer-Haug, Katrin & Read, Stuart & Brinckmann, Jan & Dew, Nicholas & Grichnik, Dietmar, 2013. "Entrepreneurial talent and venture performance: A meta-analytic investigation of SMEs," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(6), pages 1251-1273.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:intemj:v:15:y:2019:i:4:d:10.1007_s11365-019-00588-3. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.