金融科技初創(chuàng)公司：失敗、融資成功與創(chuàng)新能力-Fintech Startups in Germany Firm Failure,Funding Success,and Innovation Capacity 2024

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FintechStartupsinGermany:FirmFailure,FundingSuccess,andInnovationCapacity

LarsHornuf,MatthiasMattusch

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CESifoWorkingPaperNo.11301

FintechStartupsinGermany:FirmFailure,FundingSuccess,andInnovationCapacity

Abstract

Fintechstartupshavesetouttorevolutionizethefinancialworld.However,littleisknownabouthowsuccessfulandinnovativethesefirmsactuallyare.Thispaperinvestigatesfirmfailure,fundingsuccess,andinnovationcapacityusingahand-collecteddatasetof892Germanfintechsfoundedbetween2000and2021.Wefindthatfounderswithabusinessdegreeandentrepreneurialexperiencehaveabetterchanceofobtainingfunding,whilefounderteamswithscience,technology,engineering,ormathematicsbackgroundsfilemorepatents.Earlythird-partyendorsementsandforeignpartnershipssubstantiallyincreasefirmsurvival.Wealsoestablishthefollowingstylizedfacts:(1)fintechsfocusingonbusiness-to-businessmodelsandwhichpositionthemselvesastechnicalprovidersprovetobemoreeffective;and(2)fintechscompetinginsegmentstraditionallyreservedforbanksaregenerallylesssuccessfulandlessinnovative.Theseresultshaveimportantimplicationsfortheearly-stagesuccessmanagementoffintechfirmsandtheinvestmentdecisionsofventurecapitalfundsandgovernmentstartupprograms.

JEL-Codes:G240,M130.

Keywords:Fintechindustry,firmfunding,firmfailure,innovationcapacity.

LarsHornuf

DresdenUniversityofTechnology

ChairofBusinessAdministration,esp.FinanceandFinancialTechnology

Helmholtzstr.10

Germany–01069Dresden

la

rs.hornuf@tu-dresden.deWebsite:

MatthiasMattusch

DresdenUniversityofTechnology

ChairofBusinessAdministration,esp.Finance

andFinancialTechnology

Helmholtzstr.10

Germany–01069Dresden

matthias.mattusch@tu-dresden.de

Thisversion:August18,2024

Electroniccopyavailableat:

/abstract=4991799

1.Introduction

Overthepastdecade,traditionalfinancialinstitutionshavebeenconfrontedwithfinancialtechnologyfirms(fintechs)targetingtheirmostlucrativebusinesssegments.Fintechsfrequentlyofferspecificfinancialserviceswithouthavingtocoverthefullrangeofregulatedfinancialservices.Theytypicallyrealizecostsavingsthroughdigitalizationand,duetotheirlimitedscopeofapplication,oftenhavetomeetlessstringentregulatoryrequirementsthanatraditionalbank(Navarettietal.2018;Hornufetal.2021).Giventhesequalities,itisreasonabletoexpectthatfintechswouldhavedistinctadvantagesinthefinancialservicesindustry(Porter1980).Inthispaper,weanalyzewhethersuchexpectationsaboutthesuccessoffintechshaveactuallybeenmet.Inparticular,weexaminetheresourcesthatactaskeydriversofsuccessandinnovationforfintechstartups.

Webeginbyexaminingtheliteratureonthedeterminantsoffintechstartupformations.Inacross-countryanalysis,HaddadandHornuf(2019)identifyeconomicandtechnologicalfactorsthatencourageentrepreneurstocreatestartupsaimingtoreinventfinancialbusinessmodels.Theyprovideevidencethatawell-developedeconomyandreadilyavailableaccesstoventurecapital(VC)areparticularlyimportantforthecreationoffintechs.Marketresourcessuchasthenumberofsecureinternetservers,cellphonesubscriptions,andavailablelaboralsohaveapositiveimpact.Inasimilarvein,Kolokasetal.(2022)arguethatVCinvestorsrequireacriticalmassoffintechentrepreneursinacountryinorderforthemtoactivelycontributetothegrowthoffintechentrepreneurship.

Previousresearchhasalsoinvestigatedtheimpactoffintechstartupsonbankperformance.Wangetal.(2021)applyadataenvelopeanalysisandfindthatfintechsincreasecommercialbanks’profitabilityandrisk-controlinChina.TheirfindingsareinlinewiththoseofLietal.(2022),whoshowthatfintechinnovationsreduceChinesebanks’risk-takingbyimprovingtheiroperatingincomeandcapitaladequacyratio,optimizingtheiroperatingperformance,andenhancingtheirriskcontrolcapabilities.Bannaetal.(2021)examine534banksfrom24countriesbelongingtotheOrganizationofIslamicCooperationandalsofindthathigherlevelsoffintech-basedfinancialinclusionreducebanks’risk-taking.Similarly,HaddadandHornuf(2023)findapositiverelationshipbetweenfintechstartupsandincumbentfinancialinstitutions’performancefortheyears2005–2018,usingalargesampleoffinancialinstitutionsfrom87countries.Nevertheless,thesearticlesassessthe

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successoffintechbusinessmodelsonlyindirectlybyexaminingtheperformancechangestheyhavebroughttotraditionalfinancialinstitutions

.1

Researchonfintechsuccessfactorshasalsoexaminedspecificfintechmarketsegments.Hornufetal.(2018)examinefollow-upfundingandfirmfailureinequitycrowdfundinginGermanyandtheUK.TheydemonstratethatGermanfirmsreceivingequitycrowdfundingstandahigherchanceofobtainingfollow-upfundingthroughbusinessangelsorVCsbutalsohaveahigherlikelihoodoffailure.ResourcessuchasahighernumberofseniormanagersandahighernumberofinitialVCinvestorshaveapositiveimpactonobtainingpost-campaignfinancing,whereasahigherageofseniormanagementteammembershasanegativeimpact.Furthermore,ahighernumberofinitialVCinvestorsandahighervaluationofthefirmsignificantlyincreasethelikelihoodoffirmfailure.Incontrast,ahighernumberofseniormanagersandahigheramountraisedduringpreviousequitycrowdfundingcampaignshaveanegativeimpact.SignoriandVismara(2018)studythesuccessofequitycrowdfundingfirmsintheUKandfindthatresourcessuchasthedegreeofinvestorparticipationandthequalificationsofinvestorsmatterforfirmsuccess.Theyfindthatnoneofthefirmsinitiallybackedbyprofessionalinvestorsfailedbytheendofthesampleperiod.Again,thesearticlesonlyindirectlyexaminethesuccessoffintechbusinessmodelsbyexaminingthesuccessofthefirmsfinancedbyfintechplatforms.

Agrowingliteratureexaminesdifferencesinfintechsuccessasaresultofentrepreneurialefforts.Forexample,GazelandSchwienbacher(2021)showthat,forFrenchentrepreneurs,thechancesofastartup’ssuccessareimprovedbybeingfoundedinafintechclusterwithcompetitorsandsupportersnearby.Carbo-Valverdeetal.(2022)examinethereturnoninvestmentof170Spanishfintechfirms,lookingataverageprofitabilityuntilthreeyearsafterthefounding,andfindthatfintechsfromincubatorsareprofitableearlierthancollaborationswithbanksandlocalclusters.TurkiandRieg(2023)study105fintechsfromdifferentEuropeancountriesinvolvedin201VCroundsandfindhighersalesreturnsafteraVSroundwhenfoundershaveexperienceinfinanceandtechnology,whilebankingexperiencedoesnotplayarole.Werthetal.(2023)conductaliteraturereviewtostudythetheoreticallygroundedpredictorsoffintechfirmsuccess.Theyfindthatthecost–benefitdynamicoftheinnovation;technologyadoption;security,privacy,andtransparency;usertrust;user-perceivedquality;andindustryrivalryareamongthemostimportantfactorsforfintechsuccess.

1Foraliteraturereviewoncollaborationbetweenfinancialinstitutionsandfintechs,seeMcKillopetal.

(2020).

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AgrowingnumberofresearcharticlesspecificallyexaminetheGermanfintechmarket.StuckenborgandLeker(2019)usefintechaccountingvariablestopredictfirmfailure.Basedonanine-yearsampleof131Germanfintechs,theyshowthatthecriticaltimepointforfailuretypicallyoccursthreetofiveyearsafterafirmwasfounded.Basedonasampleof101Germanfintechfirms,Kleinetal.(2020)provideempiricalevidencethatbothhumancapitalandstrategicorientationhaveapositiveimpactontheattractivenessofafintechforinvestors.AstudybyKostinetal.(2022)compares334fundingroundsofGermanfintechswith109fundingroundsofRussianfintechsandfindsthatfundinginGermanyisfasterandmoretransparent.However,thereislittleevidenceofwhetherfintechshavesuccessfullypenetratedthefinancialmarketsandwhatresourcestheyrequireontheentrepreneurialleveltoimprovetheirchancesofsuccess.

Anotherrelevantstrandofliteratureconcernsinnovationinthefinancialindustry.Whilethenumberofpatentsforfinancialformulasandmethodshasincreasedsincethe1970s(Lerner2002),researchonfinancialpatentingandinnovationcapacitieshaslongbeensparse(Frame&White2004).Researchhasrecentlybeguntoexaminethefactorsthatpromoteinnovationinthefinancialindustry.Amongthemostimportantfactorsaffectingtheinnovationcapacityoffinancialinstitutionsare:contract-basedfinancialincentivesforinnovators(Manso2011),analystpressure(He&Tian2013),dependenceonexternalequityfunding(Hsuetal.2014),bankingmarketcompetition(Cornaggiaetal.2015),accesstoexternalfinancing,educatedmanagers,ownershipstructures,andtheextentofexposuretoforeigncompetition(Ayyagarietal.2011).Importantly,financialinnovationispositivelyrelatedtobankgrowth,butalsohigherbankfragilityandworsebankperformanceduringperiodsofcrisis(Becketal.2016).

Fintechfirmshavealsobecomethefocusofrecentempiricalresearch.Chenetal.(2019)studypatentfilingsfrom2003–2017andfindthatblockchainandrobo-advisingarethemostvaluableinnovationtypesforthefinancialsector,whichisreflectedinachangeinfirms’marketcapitalization.Thisfindingthusindicateswhattypeoffintechstartupsmightbeparticularlysuccessful.Wangetal.(2021)findfinancialinnovativenessinChinahasgenerallyincreasedasaconsequenceoffintech;however,thereislittleevidenceastowhetherfintechinnovationsaresuccessful,howlongittakesfirmstoinnovate,orwhichresourcespromoteinnovation.

Thepresentstudycontributestotheexistingliteratureinseveralways.First,wetestestablishedtheoriesand,forthefirsttime,bringtogethertheanalysisoffintechsuccessfactorsandfintechinnovationcapacity.Thisallowsustodistinguishbetweenresourcesthatcontributetothefirm’ssuccessandthosethatimproveitsinnovationcapacity.Incontrastto

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previousstudiesthattestthetheoreticalperspectiveoftheresource-basedview,wedonotrelystrictlyonabstractbalancesheetdata(Stuckenborg&Leker2019;Valverdeetal.2022),butratherfocusonconcreteresourcesinthehandsofentrepreneurialdecision-makers.Inparticular,wemeasuredifferenttheoreticalconceptsnotwithcrudeproxyvariables,butwithvariablesthatareofmoredirectinterest.Forexample,previousliteraturehasusedthecityinwhichthecompanyislocatedasanindicatorofnetworks(Agrawaletal.2015;Giudicietal.2018),managerandfounderageasanindicatorofexperience(Delmar&Shane2000;Hornufetal.2018),andthenumberoffoundersasanindicatoroffounderteamexperience(Ahlersetal.2015;Barbi&Mattioli2019;Delmar&Shane2000).Webaseourmeasureofnetworksonthepartnershipsthefintechhasenteredinto,andforskillsandprofessionalexperienceweusetheyearsofeducationandyearsofprofessionalexperienceoftherespectivemanagers.Inlinewiththecurrentliterature(Piva&Rossi-Lamastra2018;Banerji&Reimer2019;Songetal.2021),wecollectinformationfromsocialnetworkstoempiricallyoperationalizetheoreticalconcepts,therebyenhancingthevalidityofourresults.

Second,ourdatasetisseveraltimeslargerthanthosethathavepreviouslybeenusedintheliterature.While131GermanfintechsareexaminedbyStuckenborgandLeker(2019),205byKostinetal.(2022),and101byKleinetal.(2020),oursampleincludes892fintechsand254firstfinancingrounds.OurdatasetisbasedontheGermanCentralBank’sextensiveandhigh-qualitylistoffintechfirms(Dorfleitneretal.2022).Thedatasetcovers22yearsstartingJanuary1,2000.Anadvantageofthismorecomprehensivedatasetisthatourempiricalanalysisismuchlesspronetosurvivorshipbias.Furthermore,weaugmentthisdatasetwithhand-collectedinformationfromcompanyandpatentregisters,historicalcompanywebsites,socialmediaprofilesonplatformssuchasLinkedInandXing,websearches,andgeolocationdatabases.Weachievemuchhighergranularitythanpreviousstudiesbyusinginformationfrom1,264resumesandover13,514historicalwebpages.Thedataalsoallowsustoidentifyaspecificfintechfirm’smarketsegmentandpositioningstrategy.ThisextensionoftheoriginalGermanCentralBankdatasetconsequentlyallowsustoidentifyhowfintechfirmsuccessandinnovationcapacityaredistinctlyimpactedbytheresourcesofthefounders,oftheirnetworks,andofthefirmsthemselves.

Third,strategicpolicyinformedbyanuancedunderstandingofthefactorsdrivingfintechsuccessandinnovationcapacitycancontributesignificantlytothegrowthandstabilityoftheentrepreneurialfinancemarket.InthecaseofGermany,improvingtheconditionsforstartupsisparticularlyimportantbecause,althoughGermanyisthefourthlargesteconomy,itisonlyin15thplacewhenitcomestofavorableconditionsforstartups(GlobalEntrepreneurshipandDevelopmentInstitute2018).Thelackofhumanandnetwork

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capitalinparticularhasledtodiscussionsabouttheneedforpoliticalsupportforGermanstartups(KfWResearch2018).Thispaperprovidesvaluableinsightstoenrichsuchpolicydebates.Forexample,apolicytargetingthelong-termsuccessofthefintechsectorshouldmakeiteasierforprofessionalswithexperienceinthefinancialindustrytostartafintech,asthesetypesoffoundershavebeenproventobesignificantlymoresuccessfulthanthosewithapurelyentrepreneurialortechnicalbackground.Measuresencouragingfurtherinnovation,ontheotherhand,shouldfocusonsupportingfounderswithscience,technology,engineering,ormathematics(STEM)backgrounds.Ourresultsalsoshowthatpoliciesshouldprioritizeearly-stagesupportbyencouragingthird-partyendorsementsandinternationalpartnershipsevenbeforetheformalestablishmentofthefirm.Finally,forVCinvestors,wedeterminewhichresourcestheyneedtopayattentiontoinordertopredictthefailureofafintechinthestartupphaseandtomaximizetheimpactoftheirownresourceallocation.

Wefindthatpubliclyobservable,nonfinancial,andintangibleresourcesatthetimeoffintechfoundingcanpredictfintechperformanceandinnovationinsubsequentyears.Thisisanimportantfindingbecausefintechsoftenhavenophysicalassetsanditisdifficulttoconductduediligenceinthepre-seedandseedphasesofastartup.Weshowthatthegeneralideathathumancapitalimprovesoutcomesneedstobemorenuanced.Founderswithabusinessdegreeandentrepreneurialexperiencehaveabetterchanceofobtainingfunding,whilefounderteamswithSTEMbackgroundsfilemorepatents.Wealsodistinguishbetweenfirmandnetworkresourcesandfindthatonlyparticularnetworkresourcesinfluenceouroutcomevariables.Variablessuchasproximitytootherfirmsorlocationinmonopolyregions,whichareoftenusedintheliterature,playlessofarolewhenweconsiderconcreteinformationaboutpartnerships.Wealsoprovidesomestylizedfactsaboutthedisruptivenessofthefintechmarket.Weshowthatfintechsperformworsewhentheytargettraditionalfinancialservicessuchasfinancingorwealthmanagement,whereasfintechsprovidingcomplementaryservicessuchasITinfrastructureandalternativepaymentmethodsperformbetterandgeneratemoreinnovations.Finally,fintechfirmstendtoperformbetterwhentheyusemoretechnology-orientedmarketinglanguageandportraythemselvesaslessprofit-oriented.

Theremainderofthispaperisorganizedasfollows.ThenextsectionprovidesabriefoverviewoftheGermanfintechindustry.InSection3,wedescribetherelevanttheoryandtestablehypotheses.Section4presentsthedataandmethod.Section5outlinestheempiricalresultsandpresentsrobustnesschecks.Section6concludeswithmanagerialimplications,limitations,andavenuesforfutureresearch.

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2.TheGermanfintechsector

TheFinancialStabilityBoardoftheBankforInternationalSettlementsdefinesfintechas‘technologicallyenabledfinancialinnovationthatcouldresultinnewbusinessmodels,applications,processes,orproductswithanassociatedmaterialeffectonfinancialmarketsandinstitutionsandtheprovisionoffinancialservices’(EuropeanBankingAuthority2017,4).Thiscomprehensivedefinitionextendstofinancialinnovationsbyindustrialfirms,suchasthoseinsupplychainfinance,ortraditionalfinancialinstitutions.Thepresentstudy,however,ismuchmoreconcernedwiththenewandlessestablishedfintechstartupsthathavebeenfoundedinthepasttwodecades,andparticularlyhowtheyhaveestablishedthemselvesinthemarketandwhethertheyhaveindeedproducedinnovations.

WhilefinancialindustrydevelopmentshavebeenmostpronouncedintheUnitedStates(Rajan2006),Germanyisaninterestingcontextforexaminingthesuccessandinnovationcapacityoffintechfirms.ThisisbecauseinGermany,acountrythathastraditionallytendedtobemorebank-oriented,fintechshavethepotentialtocreatethemostaddedvalue.Ifthereisanywherefintechscanreformthefinanciallandscapeandbringaboutinnovations,itisprobablyinGermany,thelandofGirocardandcashpayments(DeutscheBundesbank2021).Byanalogywiththetraditionalvalue-addingareasofauniversalbank,fintechscanbedistinguishedonthebasisoftheirinvolvementinfinancing,assetmanagement,payments,andotheroftenmoretechnicalorregulatoryactivities.Below,wedividefintechintothesesegments,astheyreflect,amongotherthings,differentmarketconcentrations,successpotential,andbusinessmodels.

ThefintechmarketinGermanyhascontinuedtogrowdynamicallyinrecentyears.DorfleitnerandHornuf(2023)haveidentifiedanannualgrowthof28%overtheyears2015–2021forthefinancingandassetmanagementsegments.Thesetwomarketsegmentsreachedavolumeof€85.3billionin2021alone.ThereisalsoVCfinancingintheGermanfintechsector,whichamountedto€3.7billionin2021,butfellto€1.3billionin2022

.2

ThatamountseemscomparativelysmallforEurope’sfourthlargesteconomy,especiallywhencomparedtothe$92billioninVCfundinginfintechglobally.Nevertheless,withinEurope,GermanyisstillthesecondstrongestmarketforVCfinancinginfintechaftertheUK

.3

Whetherthisissufficienttocreatesuccessfulandsustainablefintechsandbringaboutfinancialinnovationsistobeexaminedempiricallyinthepresentstudy.

2EYStartup-Barometer:

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2022.pdf

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3.Theoryandhypotheses

3.1Resource-basedview

Thetheoreticalconceptwerelyontoexplaintheentrepreneurialsuccessandinnovationcapacityoffintechsistheresource-basedview(Penrose1959;forareviewseeBarneyetal.2001).Theresource-basedviewisatheoreticalframeworkfromthestrategicmanagementandbusinessstrategyliteraturethatfocusesontheinternalresourcesandcapabilitiesofafirmastheprimarysourcesofcompetitiveadvantage.Thetheorystatesthatnotallcompanieshaveequalaccesstoresourcesandthatcompaniesgainacompetitiveadvantagebyexploitinguniqueandvaluableresourcesthataredifficultforcompetitorstoobtain.Resourcesarethetangibleandintangibleassetsthatafirmpossesses.Inprinciple,theseincludephysicalassets(e.g.,equipment,factories),humanassets(e.g.,skilledandexperiencedfoundersandemployees),organizationalassets(e.g.,efficientprocessesandmoderntechnology),andintangibleassets(e.g.,patentsandtrademarks).Becausephysicalassetsarerarelyproducedinthefintechsector

,4

theyaretypicallylessrelevanttoafirm’ssuccessthanhumanassetsororganizationalassets.Wethereforefocusonintangibleresourcesasadrivingforceforfintechsuccessandinnovation,becausethesoftwaretheydevelopandtheknowledgetheyrequireaboutthefinancialproductsareoftenintangibleinnature.

Ourtheoreticalapproachiscloselylinkedtohumancapitaltheory(Ungeretal.2011),whichviewspeopleasassetsorcapitalinvestmentsthatcangenerateeconomicvalueforacompanythroughtheireducation,training,andexperience.Ourtheoreticalframeworkisalsolinkedtotheliteratureonorganizationalecology(Brüderletal.1992),whichviewsorganizationsasentitiesthatcompeteforresourcesandsurvivalwithinadynamicandchangingenvironment.Wethereforedifferentiateresourcesaccordingtotheirorigin:thefounders,theirnetworks,orthefirm.Wefirstanalyzetheseresourcestheoreticallyandthentesttheirinfluenceonfintechsuccessandinnovationcapacityempirically.

Fintechs’digitalservices,suchastheuseofblockchaintechnologyandgenerativeartificialintelligence,arenewinmanywaysandcanleadtounexpectedandatypicalresultsintermsofthedrivingfactorsforfintechsuccessandinnovationcapacity.Thus,ourhypothesesaboutwhichspecificresourcesareimportantforfintechsuccessandinnovationcapacity,whilebasedonestablishedtheoreticalconcepts,remaintosomeextentexploratory.OurapproachisconsistentwiththefindingsofJourdanetal.’s(2023)fintechliterature

4Exceptionsinclude,forexample,theproductionofpoint-of-salepaymentdevicesorbitcoinmininghardware.

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review,whichfindsthatmostcutting-edgefintechresearchisexplanatory,primarilyduetothenascencyoffintechunderstanding.

3.2Founderresources

Inoursetting,founderresourcesareprimarilyhumancapitalresources.Ameta-studybyUngeretal.(2011)showsthathumancapitalresourcesaregenerallythemostimportantfactorsaffectingthesuccessofastartupfirm.Ahlersetal.(2015)andBarbiandMattioli(2019)showinthecontextofcrowdfundingthathumancapitalisakeyfactorforfundingsuccess.Theoretically,humancapitalisoftenassociatedwiththenumberoffounders.DelmarandShane(2006)andAhlersetal.(2015)arguethathavingmorefoundersgenerallyimproveshumancapital,whichleadstobetterproblemsolvingbecausealargerteamcanmoreeasilyaddressmultifacetedchallengesusingabroaderrangeofskills.Largerfoundingteamsareoftenquickeratmakingdecisionsandmorespecializedintheirknowledge(Eisenhardt&Schoonhoven1990).Wethusexpectthenumberoffounderstohaveapositiveeffectonfirmsuccessandinnovationcapacity.

Whenitcomestoastartup’sfundingsuccess,founders’humancapitalresourcesareoftenviewedasaneffectivesignaltoVCfundmanagers.Humancapitalresourcesarethereforenotonlydirectlyrelevanttofirmsuccess,butalsoindirectly,astheypromoteanotherresourcebyattractingVCfunding.However,founderswhosuccessfullysignaltheirhumancapitalcanalsoattractotherresourcessuchasemployees,partners,andcustomers.Besidestheprofessionalstructureandprocessesoftheorganization,whichthefoundersmighthaveestablished,thecommitmentandskillsofthefoundersareoftencrucialforattractingsuchresources(Zott&Huy2007).McGeeetal.(1995)arguethattheprofessionalexperienceofthemanagementteamisalsogenerallyimportantforthefirm’ssuccess.WhenitcomestoVCfunding,olderfoundersaregenerallyviewedmorefavorablybyVCfundmanagers(Johnson1978)becauseyoungfoundershavelessexperience(Frankeetal.2008)andoperateinalessstablehumancapitalenvironment(Bjellandetal.2011).Finally,PivaandRossi-Lamastra(2018)suggestthatempiricalanalysesshouldconsiderabroaderrangeofmorespecifichumancapitalresources,suchastheparticulareducationandentrepreneurialorprofessionalexperiencefoundersormanagersbringtotheventure.Suchresourceshavebeenshowntoberelatedtothesizeofnewtechnology-basedfirms(Colomboetal.2004)andmakeradicalinnovationmorelikely(Marvel&Lumpkin2007).Wethereforehypothesize:

H1.Founders’humancapitalresourcesincreasefintechfirms’success(H1a)andinnovationcapacity(H1b).

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Fintechbusinessmodelsareofteninterdisciplinary,combiningfinance,technology,andentrepreneurship.Forafintechstartuptobesuccessful,thisinterdisciplinarityshouldalsobereflectedinitshumancapitalresources,possiblyevenmorethaninlessinterdisciplinarysectors.Anunbalancedhumancapitalportfoliointhefoundingteamcanpotentiallyholdbackentrepreneurship(Backes-Gellner&Moog2013).Thisseems