Can Venture Capital and Sociology Get Along? If So, Where is the Fit?

Inspired by: shurkin_son

Why do university campus maps and zoo guides look so similar? Like each faculty building is a different animal enclosure? If the analogy works for you, I wonder what kind of animals venture capital and sociology are? Can they get along? As a sociology graduate student wanting to study venture capitalism as a field of research, I need help finding the sociologist’s place in the dragon den of venture capital! And just like first day on campus, I’m lost and I can’t find my way. Does anyone care to lend me a hand?

Let me frame it better. Big hairy questions like, how does it affect society and will venture capitalism ever alleviate poverty are a bit out of reach. Think more narrow and focused, such as:

• What societal factors lead to entrepreneurial success or failure?
• How does a certain public policy influence early startup investment?
• Or, what are the social dynamics of the investor/investee relationship?

What do you think? Cast your vote for a topic for my research?

Some suggestions so far:

Appendix: What is Sociology anyway?

By posting this on Medium I’m bound to reach a few people in the VC, entrepreneurial, startup space. But — and this is just me speculating here — I don’t think these guys even know what sociology is! So for a short summary:

Sociology wants to know how society works. What is it’s logic?

Sociology considers history, social dynamics and the functions of institutions to explain and understand what makes society tick. The sociologist is interested in studying, wait for it… “social phenomena”. I know that just send a trickle down your spine, didn’t it? Anyway, sociology would basically look at the phenomenon of venture capitalism as a product of society and think about the relationships between venture capital and society at large. Make any sense? So, what I’m asking the lovely Medium community, is this:

What aspect of venture capitalism can sociology study? More specifically what must I study?

I’d really appreciate any kind of input. When the research is complete, I’d love to share my findings with you. So please Medium community! Throw me a bone would ya?