Gender match and negotiation: evidence from angel investment on Shark Tank

Abstract

Using comprehensive data of 4893 interactions from the popular television show Shark Tank, we test whether gender match with entrepreneurs correlates with investors’ likelihood to extend funding offers. We find female investors are 35% more likely to engage with female (rather than male) entrepreneurs, while less systematic gender preferences emerge for male investors. Heterogeneity analyses suggest this result remains exclusive to non-male-dominated product categories, lending support to the industry representation hypothesis. We also find it is exclusive to ventures with lower asking valuations. Estimates are robust to the inclusion of a comprehensive set of control variables (such as asking valuation, investor-, and season-fixed effects) and a range of alternative specifications.