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Topic-based classification and identification of global trends for startup companies

Author

Listed:
  • Ivan Savin

    (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
    Ural Federal University)

  • Kristina Chukavina

    (Ural Federal University)

  • Andrey Pushkarev

    (Ural Federal University)

Abstract

To foresee global economic trends, one needs to understand the present startup companies that soon may become new market leaders. In this paper, we explore textual descriptions of more than 250 thousand startups in the Crunchbase database. We analyze the 2009–2019 period by using topic modeling. We propose a novel classification of startup companies free from expert bias that contains 38 topics and quantifies the weight of each of these topics for all the startups. Taking the year of establishment and geographical location of the startups into account, we measure which topics were increasing or decreasing their share over time, and which of them were predominantly present in Europe, North America, or other regions. We find that the share of startups focused on data analytics, social platforms, and financial transfers, and time management has risen, while an opposite trend is observed for mobile gaming, online news, and online social networks as well as legal and professional services. We also identify strong regional differences in topic distribution, suggesting certain concentration of the startups. For example, sustainable agriculture is presented stronger in South America and Africa, while pharmaceutics, in North America and Europe. Furthermore, we explore which pairs of topics tend to co-occur more often together, quantify how multisectoral the startups are, and which startup classes attract more investments. Finally, we compare our classification to the one existing in the Crunchbase database, demonstrating how we improve it.

Suggested Citation

  • Ivan Savin & Kristina Chukavina & Andrey Pushkarev, 2023. "Topic-based classification and identification of global trends for startup companies," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 60(2), pages 659-689, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:60:y:2023:i:2:d:10.1007_s11187-022-00609-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s11187-022-00609-6
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Crunchbase; Machine learning; Natural language processing; Investments; Entrepreneurship;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups
    • C6 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling
    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship

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