Michael Ewens, from Columbia Business School & NBER, will present "Irreplaceable Venture Capitalists".

Abstract: We provide causal evidence on how individual venture capitalists (VCs) add value to startups, using exogenous deaths of VC directors on startup boards. Losing a VC director increases the probability of startup failure, delays a successful exit, and reduces the IPO likelihood. Affected startups that raise capital after a director loss obtain a narrower investor base. These effects persist after the replacement of deceased VCs, indicating the importance of the original deal experts for startup survival, financing, and going public. In contrast, losing a VC director does not affectrecruitment, product development, and CEO replacement, suggesting that these skills are replicable. Overall, a VC’s network and reputation are key irreplaceable assets.