Drawn to the fire: The role of passion, tenacity and inspirational leadership in angel investing

Extant research affirms that angel investors seek passionate entrepreneurs but questions surround whether there is value in passion itself, or if it is instead used as a marker for other important characteristics like tenacity and inspirational leadership. Employing both a qualitative and quantitative study, we find that angels value passion in addition to tenacity, as well as both together, when evaluating entrepreneurs for investment. We also find that the entrepreneurial experience of angels positively moderates the value provided by passion and tenacity. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.