The start-up’s roadmap to private equity financing: substituting discounts with a premium in valuation for growth

Purpose – Access to financing is a key success factor for start-ups. High failure rates, long payback periodse and asymmetries lead to conservative pricing and valuation discounts. The authors examine financial marketing and contingent factors, as enablers of a “patent premium” by private equity (PE) investors targeting start-ups in their growth and expansion stages. Design/methodology/approach – Drawing from the contingency, innovation and signaling theories, the authors collect patent records for Italian start-ups in which a higher than 30% stake was acquired by PE investors during the period 2014–2020. The authors apply a generalized linear model with a logit link and robust clustered error to test the key relationships and control for endogeneity with a Heckman two-stage selection model. Findings – Findings indicate start-ups’ access to financing is significantly impacted by marketing constructs adopted in the operation. Innovation alone does not suffice to determine a valuation premium, unless contingent on the promotion of its product, the placement -investors targeted-of the equity, brand equity levers of previous ownership and marketing competence backing the deal. Originality/value – The authors provide new insights in the marketing-finance interface, highlighting levers that reassure investors and enable monetizing innovation in start-ups that are still privately held. The authors bridge a gap in literature that has mainly focused on venture capital and innovation financing in the open market, as well as a significant gap regarding the marketing design of private equity placements.