Experimental Design Workshop | Feb 10th [Online] - Incite at Columbia University

Join us for a workshop presentation. This event is free and open to the public.

Whose Problems Are Worth Solving?

The Effects of Founder and Customer Socioeconomic Background on Startup Funding

Jean Joohyun Oh (Management, Columbia Business School)

Do investors evaluate startups differently by the socioeconomic background of the founder and target customer? I explore this research question using an experimental approach designed around two fundamental aspects of a startup: (1) who is solving the business problem (i.e., the founder)? (2) whose problem is the company solving (i.e., the customer)? In the experiment, current or aspiring investors receive information on an investment opportunity in a startup, in which the founder’s and target customer’s implied socioeconomic background is randomized. Using the experimental variations, I test whether investors exhibit class homophily, such that they are more likely to prefer founders who come from socioeconomically similar backgrounds as investors themselves, rather than founders from dissimilar backgrounds. Similarly, on the customer side I test whether investors prefer to invest in startups that target customers who are socioeconomically like the investors themselves. Further, I examine whether investors consider the socioeconomic (in)congruence between the founder and target customer to gauge founder-market fit.

Jean Joohyun Oh is a PhD student in the Management Division at Columbia Business School. Her research sits at the intersection of entrepreneurship and society. She has published field experimental studies examining whether and how entrepreneurs are motivated by creating social impact and solving grand challenges. In her dissertation, she is studying how the socioeconomic backgrounds of entrepreneurs and investors relate to the problems they see as worth solving.

About the Experimental Design Workshop

The workshop gives social scientists the opportunity to workshop the design of an experiment they have not yet fielded. Graduate student and faculty presenters will present their designs and receive specific, actionable feedback from other workshop participants. A list of our previous sessions can be found here.

For inquiries or if you are interested in joining the workshop's email list, please contact Daniel Tadmon (daniel.tadmon@columbia.edu) or James Chu (jyc2163@columbia.edu).

Funding support for the Experimental Design Workshop is provided by the Paul F. Lazarsfeld Lecture Series, administered by INCITE, which features events and programming that embody and honor Lazarsfeld’s commitment to the improvement of methodological approaches that address concerns of vital cultural and social significance.