Trends and Developments in Entrepreneurial Finance. Implications for a Startup's Signaling Strategy

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2018 in the subject Business economics - Investment and Finance, grade: 1,0, University of Mannheim (Chair of Strategic and International Management, Prof. Dr. Matthias Brauer), language: English, abstract: The landscape of entrepreneurial finance is currently subject to a process of transformation, driven by globalization, technological advancements, regulatory adjustments, and the emergence of winner-take-all markets. These factors jointly pave the way for new forms of financing, which differ significantly from traditional forms in terms of investor structure, experience, and behavior. To analyze how startups can ensure financial coverage in the light of these changing conditions, this review compares strategies of attracting traditional and new types of investors from a signaling perspective. In business practice, this topic is highly relevant, as many young startups require substantial amounts of external capital to grow, but often have no objective firm data to provide to investors. Thus, the selection of effective “soft” signals about startup quality, preferably aligned with the preferences of the respective investor group, can decide about short-term survival and long-term performance. Findings include that the most promising signaling strategies for traditional forms of financing are based on startup characteristics, i.e. what a firm is. In contrast, the most effective signals for new forms of financing are based on startup actions, i.e. what a firm does. Moreover, while personal networks have been found to be highly relevant for traditional forms, online networks increase the funding prospects for new forms of financing. Through a consolidation and analysis of the current state of research in leading management, entrepreneurship, and finance journals, this review aims at providing a comprehensive overview of the issue and identifying avenues for future research.