Camille Hebert

I am an Assistant Professor of Finance at the University of Toronto.

Primary fields of research:

Corporate Finance
Entrepreneurship
Labor and Finance

Email: camille.hebert@rotman.utoronto.ca

Curriculum Vitae | SSRN | Google Scholar

Contact information:

Rotman School of Management

105 St. George Street

Toronto, ON, M5S 2E8, Canada

I co-organize the Workshop on Entrepreneurial Finance and Innovation (WEFI), a bi-weekly virtual workshop featuring research in entrepreneurial finance and innovation, alongside Michael Ewens, Song Ma, and Melanie Wallskog.

Published Papers:

Gender Stereotypes and Entrepreneur Financing, Review of Financial Studies, Accepted

Best Paper Award at the Miami Behavioral Finance Conference 2019

Cubist Systematic Strategies PhD Candidate Award for Outstanding Research, WFA 2019

Abstract: I document a significant gender gap in entrepreneurs' access to early-stage equity financing. Using unique administrative data on French startups, I show that this gap is particularly pronounced in male-dominated sectors. Controlling for a comprehensive set of entrepreneur and startup characteristics -- including demographics, backgrounds, and motivations - accounts for 42% of the average gender gap. However, in male-dominated sectors, 80% of the gap remains unexplained. Growth-oriented female entrepreneurs rely more heavily on bank loans, substituting equity with debt. Finally, VC-backed female-founded startups outperform their male counterparts in male-dominated sectors. These findings suggest that context-dependent stereotypes influence equity financing decisions.

Build or Buy? Human Capital and Corporate Diversification with Paul Beaumont and Victor Lyonnet, Review of Financial Studies, Forthcoming

Featured in: Rotman Insight Hub

Best Student Paper Award, 5th ECGC workshop on Governance and Control

Abstract: Why do some firms enter a new sector by building on their resources (``build'') while others buy an existing company (``buy'')? Using French administrative data, we propose a measure of human capital distance between a firm and a sector of entry. We show that firms build in close sectors and buy in distant sectors in terms of human capital. We establish causality using a shift-share instrument. Firms build by hiring new workers, which is more costly in distant sectors because it requires more organizational skills. Hence, firms buy in distant sectors to acquire already operational human capital.

Working Papers:

Financing the Next Startup: The Role of Gender with Heather Tookes and Emmanuel Yimfor

Featured in: SEC Small Business’s 2024 Report to Congress, Yale Insight

Presentations: SITE (2024), NFA (2024), AFA (2025), MFA (2025), RCFS Winter conference (2025), SFS Cavalcade (2025)

Abstract: Is there a gender gap in the serial founding of VC-backed startups? Women comprise 13.3\% of VC-backed founders but only 4% of those founding three or more startups. Using a novel design comparing men and women cofounders of the same startup, we document substantial gender gaps in subsequent funding outcomes. Lower interest by women in founding new firms can only partially explain our findings. We find no evidence of gender differences in founder quality or of statistical updating by investors. Instead, consistent with stereotyping, we find negative spillovers from unrelated women-founded failures (and no positive spillovers from their successes).

Learning from Errors in Entrepreneurship

Featured in: Rotman Insight Hub

Presentations: WEFI webinar (2021), NBER entrepreneurship (2021), MFA (2022), NFA (2022), RCFS Winter conference (2022), CEPR Endless Summer (2022)

Abstract: Using a large sample of entrepreneurs' expectations about the future of their company matched to administrative data, I study the relationship between forecast errors, subsequent updates, and startups' survival to determine whether and how entrepreneurs learn from their past errors. I find evidence of two types of learning: Some entrepreneurs become better at entrepreneurship over time, while others exit after realizing that their ability is poor. A substantial part of overall learning from errors is explained by optimistic entrepreneurs who exit. Entrepreneurs who continue to revise their forecasts, adjust their business plans and make fewer errors over time. Entrepreneurs often cite funding challenges and product market competition as the primary reasons for not meeting their initial objectives. Understanding these learning dynamics sheds light on the motivations behind starting new businesses despite high chances of failure and low returns.

The Immigrant Wage Penalty : Evidence from Domestic and International MBA Graduates in Canada, with Irene Yi

Presentations: NYU WAPFIN (2022)

Abstract: We study the job market outcomes and career paths of MBA graduates from the University of Toronto between 2010 to 2019, depending on their immigration status. The first salary of an international MBA graduate is, on average $4,208–$12,358 lower than that of a Canadian citizen within the same cohort and after controlling for language, abilities and other determinants of wages. We find evidence that international students self-select into different occupations and industries than Canadians. Using LinkedIn and Glassdoor, we track the careers after graduation and estimate their long-term salaries. The immigration wage gap widens over time, consistent with path dependency in MBA graduates’ careers.

Resting Papers:

Acquisitions, Labor Reallocation and Productivity with Paul Beaumont

Presentations: Labor and Finance group (2019)

Abstract: We estimate the impact of acquisitions on firm performance and employment. We use a novel dataset merging administrative matched employer-employee data in France and a dataset of M&A deals occurring between 2006 and 2011. Comparing targets with firms similar in terms of size, age, and industry, we find that going through an acquisition boosts firm total employment, with target firms experiencing higher net employment growth (2.7 percentage points) over the three years following the acquisition. Job creation is concentrated among diversified deals and essentially benefits low-skilled workers and workers in technical occupations. By contrast, top executives and managers are more likely to be laid-off. Moreover, we show that intra-group reallocation is an important driver of M&A gains and employment dynamics.

Are Investors Aware of Ownership Connections? with Edith Ginglinger and Luc Renneboog

Larry Lang Best Corporate Finance Paper Award, European Financial Management Association conference (2018)

Abstract: We examine market reactions to earnings announcements within a parent-subsidiary ownership structure. Parents’ investors react to all announcements within the group either immediately or with delay, whereas subsidiaries’ investors only react to their own firm’s announcements, ignoring predictive information released by the parent. Multiple announcements within a group lead to enhanced transparency for parents’ investors. In contrast, subsidiaries’ investors appear unaware of ownership links, and behave as inattentive investors. Inattention is worsened by geographical diversification and indirect ownership, but is explained by strategic timing of the disclosure of earnings surprises, day-of-the-week effect, internal capital markets, or synergy-related explanations across industries.

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