A study conducted by CB insights has revealed a lot of details about VC backed companies across the country. The focus of the study was on the three largest players in tech startup; New York, California and Massachusetts.
Key Stats
40% of funded companies have two founding members, and they raise 19% more money on average than companies with one or three founders. A common scenario is one founder focuses on the technical and product side of the business, while the other handles more of the business and marketing. A two founder company has the advantage of a greater depth of knowledge, while still keeping decision making simple compared to larger teams.
Founding teams based in California, raise more money than the other two states. On average 67% more than teams in Massachusetts and 59% more than Nee York based teams.
On average, all Asian teams raise:
• 74% more than all white teams
• 82% more than mixed teams
• 207% more than all black teams
Founders According to Race and Gender
Most founders are white males, but on average Asians receive more funding. Massachusetts has a higher percentage of women founders, compared to New York and California.
Median Funding Received by Race:
• Asian Pacific – $4 million
• All White – $2.3 million
• Mixed – $2.2 million
• All Black – $1.3 million
Median Funding Received By Gender:
• All Male – $2.2 million
• All Female $2.2 million
• Mixed $4 million
Age and experience factors
Older age does not automatically translate into more funding. What is rewarded is more experienced founders.
Median funding Received by Age Range:
• 35-44 ($2 million)
• 26-34 ($2.5 million)
• 45-54 ($2.4 million)
• 18-25 ($1.4 million)
Former Titles and Roles
An interesting statistic is the breakdown of the previous job title and job role of founding members.
Former Title Breakdown:
• Other role – 46 %
• Sales & marketing – 13 %
• Product development & management – 12 %
• Engineering – 11 %
• Business Development – 8 %
• Software – 6 %
• Strategy – 4 %
Former Role Breakdown:
• CEO/Founder – 39 %
• Other title – 28 %
• Director – 10 %
• Vice President – 9 %
• Senior Vice President – 5 %
• Manager – 5 %
• Consultant – 4 %
