I Do - The Potential for Marriage Between Angels and Firms

Abstract: The number of start-up firms on the Swedish market has been increasing steadily over the past decade and the financing alternatives for young ventures are limited. One group of actors that has the ability to fill this gap is business angels, whom invest in firms in the start-up phase. The aim of this study is to examine the potential for partnership between business angels and start-up firms in Sweden, by looking at the different social contexts that these two operate in and investigate the new context that evolves during a mutual evaluation process. This will be done using the theoretical concepts of institutionalization and intuition, which combined are used as a conceptual framework that can explain the social construction within this particular context. A qualitative study was conducted, with a total of 20 interviews consisting of business angels, start-up firms and additional sources who possess knowledge about the industry and the evaluation setting. The conclusion of the study suggests a misalignment of what the two actors communicate that they seek in each other and what they in reality really want. This results in a complex mutual evaluation process where conceptions bias the starting point, which will play a significant role for the outcome of the assessment.