Analysis of funding structure of startups ecosystem using two-mode graph

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to clarify how "financing" affects startup growth in the startup ecosystem (a growth ecosystem consisting of people, goods and money). Many existing studies have analyzed patent information, but studies on the effects of financing are limited. In this research, we aim to visualize the funding structure by network analysis and contribute to necessary measures to strengthen the ecosystem.The research method is to construct network data with startups and investors as nodes and the investment relationship as an edge. A growing startup analyzes how it has a network structure. Analysis revealed that startups, its founders, and related VCs, which went public in the 2000s and 2010s, are now playing a central role in the network. In other words, previous generations of successful entrepreneurs are investing in the next generation of startups. It has been confirmed that an ecosystem of serial entrepreneurs, which has been an issue in the past, is being formed. The remaining issue is the expansion of investment scale. As of 2018, VC investment in Japan is less than 1/50 of the United States and less than 1/10 of China.