The devil is in the details: The effect of nonverbal cues on crowdfunding success

Abstract

Many reward-based crowdfunding platforms encourage entrepreneurs to introduce their projects and make a personal appeal with a video clip. In this study, we investigate the impact of such a pitch video on financing outcomes. Grounded in social perception literature, we propose that effective use of nonverbal cues in a pitch video increases funding success. We coded and analyzed videos of crowdfunding campaigns and found that an entrepreneur could improve the funding outcomes by gazing less, appearing early, and reducing speech hesitations in a pitch video. We also found that smiling has no impact on funding success.