Aaron Anglin and Will Drover’s Study Reveals Complex Impact of Founder Age Perceptions on Funding
TCU Neeley’s Aaron Anglin, Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship and Will Drover, Department Chair for Entrepreneurship and Innovation in partnership with other experts find that while appearing older can initially help entrepreneurs secure funding, excessive age perceptions can negatively impact fundraising efforts. The relationship between perceived age and funding is inverted-U-shaped, with perceptions of intelligence, creativity, and experience influencing this dynamic. (Journal of Business Venturing, 2024).
Abstract
Leveraging work on role theory and age stereotypes, we deploy a randomized experiment that uses AI to manipulate founder age in fundraising appeals. Broadly, we find that age perceptions matter to investors. Using 949 equity crowdfunding observations, we show that entrepreneurs benefit from appearing older when seeking funding. However, these benefits wane as age perceptions increase, and age perceptions eventually become detrimental to funding efforts, resulting in an inverted-U relationship between age perceptions and funding evaluations. Perceptions of founder intelligence, creativity, energy, and experience mediate this relationship. This study opens new frontiers by introducing founder age perceptions as an important, yet overlooked factor in entrepreneurial fundraising.
Associate Professor
Department Chair
Director of Neeley AI Forward
Dean's Advisor on AI & Digital Innovation