Gender gap in entrepreneurship

•Prior research does not clarify whether the gender gap in VC financing arises during the financing process, or if it is idue to differences in the initial type of companies founded across genders.•We show around two-thirds of the gender financing gap is accounted for by observable differences in the growth orientation of companies at founding.•Through a series of tests, we find evidence suggesting the remaining third is driven by statistical discrimination on the part of venture capitalists.•Finally, conditional on the reception of funding, women and men are equally likely to sell the company or IPO.