Several factors affect the capital structure of start-ups. In this study, we compare the capital structure choices of accelerated and non-accelerated start-ups to evaluate the role of accelerated programmes on the capital structure decisions for start-ups. Using a comprehensive database provided by Emory University, we find that accelerated start-ups have higher external equity ratios than non-accelerated start-ups, after accounting for firm-specific differences and unobserved start-ups factors, particularly when the economic conditions deteriorate. We also confirm that accelerated start-ups raise more funding through philanthropic investors, but this effect disappears when we control for firm fixed effects. These results suggest that accelerators provide informative signals about the quality of the venture, albeit only to external equity investors, and particularly during recession periods. Our findings have implications for a better understanding of the role of asymmetric information and business cycles in capital structure decisions for accelerated start-ups.

有几个因素会影响初创企业的资本结构。在这项研究中，我们比较了加速和非加速初创企业的资本结构选择，以评估加速计划对初创企业资本结构决策的作用。使用埃默里大学提供的综合数据库，我们发现加速初创企业的外部股权比率高于非加速初创企业，在考虑了公司特定差异和未观察到的初创企业因素后，尤其是在经济状况恶化时。我们还证实，加速初创企业通过慈善投资者筹集了更多资金，但当我们控制公司固定效应时，这种效应就会消失。这些结果表明，加速器提供了有关风险投资质量的信息信号，尽管仅限于外部股权投资者，尤其是在经济衰退时期。我们的发现有助于更好地理解信息不对称和商业周期在加速初创企业的资本结构决策中的作用。