The Social Capital of Venture Capital: Status Reproduction In A High Class Profession

Abstract

American Venture Capital (VC) is a field dominated by Caucasian men from pedigreed families. What is limiting access by women or people of color to venture capital? I propose that sociological mechanisms for status reproduction such as cultural matching and habitus formation are critical to determining who successfully enters the field and who is left behind. This thesis uses qualitative data from interviews with people both in and excluded from the field to ascertain the social and cultural capital necessary for entry into venture capital networks. Specifically, I look at the pipeline into becoming a VC; the rituals used to reproduce VC culture; and the aspects of entrepreneurship that VCs value. Though attendance at elite educational institutions from which many VCs come is commonly assumed to be the culprit for inequalities in access to VC, I argue instead that inequalities in pre-university habitus-formation are a significantly more important factor.