Resource mobilization is crucial, yet challenging, for early-stage ventures. While numerous studies have concentrated on the antecedents or outcomes of resource mobilization, the process, especially the interactions between entrepreneurs and investors during early-stage financing, remains less explored. By utilizing data from an online platform that documents the communications between entrepreneurs and early-stage investors, we discover that learning plays a significant role in the resource mobilization process. We hypothesize that this learning effect is more pronounced for entrepreneurs without a degree from a top university and entrepreneurs without serial startup experience. We further examine the learning mechanism through two mediators: the constructive feedback received by entrepreneurs (the input of learning), and the revisions of business plans (the output of learning). We find empirical support from a proprietary dataset consisting of 780,904 business plan submissions from 9,418 entrepreneurial projects. Our study contributes to entrepreneurial resource mobilization literature by elucidating entrepreneurial learning through resource mobilization attempts. Furthermore, it provides practical implications for entrepreneurs to not just focus on raising money but also to reap the learning benefits from their interactions with investors.
