WHO FOUNDS PUBLIC FIRMS? THE INFLUENCE OF FOUNDER GENDER, HUMAN CAPITAL, AND SOCIAL CAPITAL ON THE LIKELIHOOD OF IPO.

Initial public offerings (IPOs) are an important mechanism for firms to raise capital and founders and investors to realize a return on their investments. Little is known about the people who create these firms, as much of the existing research on entrepreneurs and IPOs has examined firm performance after the event. Given that founders shape a firm’s trajectory, the lack of scholarly knowledge about who takes firms public indicates a theoretical and empirical conundrum. We examine the relationship between a founding team’s gender composition, backgrounds, and the likelihood that the venture will complete an IPO by conducting an event history analysis of U.S. genomics firms founded between 1983 and 2018, followed through 2022. We discover that, while stereotypes and biases have been shown to influence venture funding, female-founded firms are equally likely to go public as other firms. Additionally, female founders and male founders exhibit similar professional and educational backgrounds, but these factors influence firm outcomes much differently. These results suggest female entrepreneurs and male entrepreneurs utilize human and social capital distinctly. Our findings indicate that female entrepreneurs in highly incongruous roles and settings can leverage their knowledge and skills, with exceptional consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]