This paper provides evidence that equity crowdfunding has implications for firms long after the capital raised through the campaign is injected. Using a unique dataset of 290 firms that successfully fundraised via the two most prominent UK equity crowdfunding portals, we examine how different shareholder structures, namely the nominee vs. the direct shareholder structure, affect the attraction of venture capital financing. From the comparison with a control group of twin firms that did not receive any external seed financing, we find that a successful equity crowdfunding campaign facilitates the attraction of VC financing. This association is stronger for equity crowdfunding campaigns with a nominee shareholder structure, while it results weaker when the direct shareholder structure is chosen. Compared to a different control sample of angel-backed firms, receiving equity crowdfunding through a nominee structure facilitates the attraction of VC financing.

Investors within a Business Angel (BA) group are embedded in a cohesive network of relationships that arises from past joint investments. In this paper, we have studied how the network position of a BA within this network affects the likelihood that a company will receive investments from the BA group. We have hypothesized a curvilinear, inverse U-shaped relationship between the centrality of the BA and the probability of a company being funded by the BA group. Moreover, we have explored how the experience of a BA and the geographical proximity between the BA and the company influence such a relationship.