Seminar Series

2022 - 2023

Speaker: Ramin Baghai (Stockholm School of Economics).

Title: “Who Becomes a Business Angel?”

joint with Laurent Bach (ESSEC), Per Strömberg (SSE), Katarina Warg (CBS).

Date: Tuesday, September 27th at 12h30 (Paris Time).

Abstract: The availability of external finance for early-stage enterprises is vital for entrepreneurship and innovation. Using data from Swedish administrative registries, we identify business angels, i.e., individuals repeatedly financing start-ups, and characterize who among the general population eventually becomes a business angel. Angels are overwhelmingly drawn from the top 1% of the wealth distribution and are just as likely as other rich people to originate from wealthy families. However, angels have distinguishing characteristics compared to the rich in general. Their asset allocation is strongly biased towards the riskiest assets, suggesting unusually low levels of risk aversion. Angels also have higher general ability (as measured using cognitive and non-cognitive ability scores from military enlistment tests and college admission tests), are more likely to be university graduates, and choose more business-relevant degrees (such as business studies, law, and engineering). In addition, a majority of angels have prior work experience in start-ups, typically as executives. Angels making the most successful investments and those making the least successful ones are farther apart from the rest of the rich population than from each other's group. Our analysis provides important insights for the design of policies encouraging the financing of early-stage ventures.

Bio: Here is a link to the speaker’s website

https://sites.google.com/site/raminbaghai/

You are cordially invited to participate to the seminar, which will take place in Room 204, Bosco building. For those who will not be in the room, please find the zoom link below:

https://tbs-education-fr.zoom.us/j/91828818763?pwd=cUU3d2U2REhaN3ZBZkVnNzF5aVBtUT09

For more information, please contact: Pierre Mella-Barral p.mella-barral@tbs-education.fr