  By drawing on large-scale online data we construct and analyze the
time-varying worldwide network of professional relationships among start-ups.
The nodes of this network represent companies, while the links model the flow
of employees and the associated transfer of know-how across companies. We use
network centrality measures to assess, at an early stage, the likelihood of the
long-term positive performance of a start-up, showing that the start-up network
has predictive power and provides valuable recommendations doubling the current
state of the art performance of venture funds. Our network-based approach not
only offers an effective alternative to the labour-intensive screening
processes of venture capital firms, but can also enable entrepreneurs and
policy-makers to conduct a more objective assessment of the long-term
potentials of innovation ecosystems and to target interventions accordingly.
