Sofia Bapna

My research lies at the intersection of digital platforms, gender gaps, and entrepreneurship. I investigate the strategies used by entrepreneurial ventures in digital contexts such as equity crowdfunding and online social networks, to influence their legitimacy and to acquire resources. In addition, I examine gender gaps in STEM and equity crowdfunding. I explore these topics through the lens of organization theory, and utilize randomized field experiments as wells as rigorous econometric methods. My work has been published in Management Science and the MIS Quarterly, featured in Forbes, and funded by the Kauffman Foundation.

Awards, Honors and Media Mentions

2017 Finalist, Carlson Business Week, Faculty of the year award
2017 Dean’s Small Research Grant, Carlson School of Management
2016 Kauffman-IGL grant for RCTs in entrepreneurship
2016 Kauffman Dissertation Fellowship award
2016 Social Media and Business Analytics Collaborative (SOBACO) research grant, with Russell Funk
2015 Carlson School of Management Dissertation Fellowship award
2013 and 2012 McNamara Women’s Fellowship award

2018 Oct - Forbes How To Improve Gender Diversity In Entertainment Through Social Networking 
2018 Oct - Carlson School magazine Three People-Three Questions
2018 April - Carlson School Magazine The Job Market–Academically Speaking - Better Networking May Improve the STEM Gender Gap
2018 Jan - Discovery at Carlson Equity Investors and Entrepreneurs: The signals that matter
2017 Nov - Carlson website news MIS Students learn tools of the trade
2016 Oct - Carlson website news Sofia Bapna and Gordon Burtch Receive Kauffman Foundation-IGL Grant
2016 Aug - Featured in Growthology, "Keeping up with the Kauffman Dissertation Fellows" by Alex Krause
2015 Dec - Featured in the Carlson Alumni Newsletter 
2012 Aug - Referenced in Vogue (India), "Finding 40" by Shoba Narayan