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This Article addresses the potentially negative implications of proposed antitrust legislation on the entrepreneurial ecosystem in general, with a particular focus on the venture capitalists (VCs) that fund it. First, it offers a review of how antitrust merger law currently works and how proposed legislative changes to antitrust may threaten the innovative Venture Capital (VC)-backed ecosystem that has made the United States the center of global innovation across many different industries. Accompanying this review are some empirical observations. Second, recognizing that the understanding of innovative entrepreneurial activity calls for a deep appreciation of those who back it, the Article also provides an overview of the entrepreneurial ecosystem and VCs' motivations within this niche environment. In so doing, the Article identifies the drivers of entrepreneurial innovation and explains why changes to merger law may threaten these models of facilitating innovative, growth-orientated entrepreneurs. Finally, the Article concludes that changes to merger law may negatively affect the entire entrepreneurial ecosystem and hinder innovation in the United States., TABLE OF CONTENTS I INTRODUCTION 256 II ANTITRUST MERGER LAW 258 III WHY DOES EXIT VIA ACQUISITION MATTER TO ENTREPRENEURSHIP? 262 IV A BRIEF EXPLANATION OF THE BUSINESS MODEL OF [...]

Research has shown that most ventures fail, yet there has been limited work on investors' views of entrepreneurs who have failed in the past. We address this gap and call attention to an innate asymmetry between past failure and success. This asymmetry arises because success requires skill and luck jointly, whereas failure materializes due to either lack of skill (mistakes) or bad luck (misfortune). We ask: Are investors "failure-averse" and discount a failed entrepreneur even in the presence of additional information about entrepreneurial skill? Or do they make "rational inferences" in light of the additional skill information and proceed to fund the new startup? To test whether investors are failure-averse or engage in rational inference, we use experiments in the context of equity crowdfunding. The results suggest that prospective crowdfunding investors rationally integrate informational cues regarding past outcomes and entrepreneurial skill. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on investment decisions in nascent, seed-stage startups, where information is scarce and uncertainty is intense. Entrepreneurship literature has shown that investment is a function of the investor-startup pair; some studies have investigated startup characteristics, while others have focused on investor traits. We complement extant work by studying factors beyond the investor-startup pair; namely, incidental contextual factors such as changes in the physical environment. Drawing on affect-asinformation theory, we conjecture that, in the face of intense uncertainty, sunnier days may affect investors' mood and result in a greater likelihood of investment. Archival and experimental analyses inform our predictions. The former utilizes proprietary data on 1,335 startups graduating from European accelerators. Every accelerator holds a "Demo Day," where startups pitch to investors. We find that graduating on a sunnier day increases the likelihood of investment. This effect is stronger under intense uncertainty, where (a) startups are nascent, or (b) founders have limited human capital. An experimental study where prospective investors evaluate a Demo Day pitch yields further insights. We find a positive sunshine-investment association, and show that the association is mediated by investors' mood. Our findings complement extant work and contribute insights regarding seed-stage investment decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the crowdfunding phenomenon has attracted considerable practitioner and scholarly attention, existing research predominantly reflects a U.S.-centric perspective. This article examines crowdfunding platform creation in 15 European countries. Despite the omnipresent reach of the internet, national boundaries shape the evolution of the European crowdfunding industry. Specifically, crowdfunding platform creation varies across countries and distinct national patterns emerge for crowdfunding activity in general. Moreover, econometric analyses suggest that country-level factors influence platform creation in European countries, with interesting variations across four crowdfunding models: Donation, Reward, Lending, and Equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conditions under which firms are likely to pursue equity investment in new ventures as a way to source innovative ideas are explored. It is found that firms invest more in new ventures commonly referred to as corporate venture capital in industries with weak intellectual property protection and to some extent in industries with high technological ferment and where complementary distribution capability is important.