What signals quality for digital startups seeking access to external finance? Analyzing a unique dataset from India, we investigate the impact of traditional quality signals (e.g., the founders’ years of experience, prior industry experience); networking signals (e.g., degrees from elite educational institutes, the breadth of an entrepreneurial team); and digital signals (e.g., the social media presence of the startup on multiple social media sites) on the access to venture capital financing. We find that while networking and digital signals positively impact access to financing, traditional human capital signals do not have any significant impact on the process.

是什么标志着寻求外部融资的数字初创企业的质量？通过分析来自印度的独特数据集，我们调查了传统质量信号的影响（例如，创始人的经验，先前的行业经验）；网络信号（例如，来自精英教育机构的学位，创业团队的广度）；以及获得风险资本融资的数字信号（例如，创业公司在多个社交媒体站点上的社交媒体存在）。我们发现，虽然网络和数字信号对获得融资产生积极影响，但传统的人力资本信号对流程没有任何重大影响。