Growing bigger and becoming visible–exploring how venture boards influence funding performance in digital startups

This study investigates how venture board characteristics influence the funding performance of digital startups, focusing on board size and external visibility. Drawing on resource dependence theory, we argue that boards serve as critical resource providers in a highly dynamic competitive landscape for digital startups. Using a unique Crunchbase dataset of 1,047 startups digitally enabled with artificial intelligence, the findings show that both board size and external visibility positively affect funding performance, with market attention, a critical intangible resource, acting as a mediator of this influence. These findings highlight that larger and more visible boards enhance legitimacy, attract stakeholder interest, and channel intangible resources into financial outcomes. By introducing external visibility as a novel board attribute and uncovering market attention as a key mechanism, this study advances venture board research in digital contexts. It offers actionable insights for founders and investors seeking to optimise board composition for growth.