This allows an analysis of the population of founders seeking financing in a way that has not previously been possible, and a direct investigation of whether and why gender appeals to be an important determinant of fundraising success. Examples include (but are not restricted to) Alexy et al. ( First, Crunchbase cannot avoid selection, insofar as start-ups initially may also seek other platforms or ways to receive financing. This does not necessarily pose a problem for investigating the gender gap, as long as there are no grounds to think that this self-selection is related to gender.