Success drivers of online equity crowdfunding campaigns

•Many crowdfunding campaigns tend to remain unsuccessful.•We develop an understanding of the success drivers underlying equity crowdfunding campaigns.•We find that the criteria used by VCs or business angels are not of prime importance for success in equity crowdfunding.•Success is instead related to pre-selected crowdfunding campaign features and the utilization of private and public networks.•The findings can support the decision making of entrepreneurs and crowdfunding platforms, as both aim for campaign success.

While equity crowdfunding provides ventures with an opportunity to collect funding from a large base of investors, many campaigns tend to remain unsuccessful. We draw from two fields of financing adjacent to equity crowdfunding, venture capital (VC) and angel investing, as well as rewards-based crowdfunding, to develop an understanding of the drivers of investment decisions in equity crowdfunding. Using data from a leading equity crowdfunding platform in Northern Europe, we explore factors that drive the number of investors and amount of funding attracted by equity crowdfunding campaigns. The results suggest that the investment decision criteria traditionally used by VCs or business angels are not of prime importance for success in equity crowdfunding. Instead, success is related to pre-selected crowdfunding campaign characteristics and the utilization of private and public networks. The findings are relevant for the decision making of entrepreneurs and crowdfunding platforms, as both parties benefit from campaign success.