# Research

> Three plain-language summaries of published research on deal sourcing, event networking and early-firm networks, plus one dated report on Propel's own public event archive.

Canonical: https://propel.earth/research

Short, sourced answers. Three are summaries of other people's published research. One is a report on Propel's own public event archive. Each page states the sample, the date and what it cannot show.

Propel Earth runs events and makes introductions, so it has a commercial interest in the topics below. We summarise other people's research; we did not run it, and nothing here shows that Propel causes any outcome.

- [Where do venture capitalists say their deal flow comes from?](https://propel.earth/research/venture-capital-deal-sourcing): VC deal sourcing, survey of 885 investors (2015 to 2016)
- [What event attendees say would make networking more useful](https://propel.earth/research/event-networking-preferences): Freeman 2025 Networking Trends Report, 2,326 attendees
- [A Swedish study linked professional-network measures with early sales growth](https://propel.earth/research/early-firm-professional-networks): Löfsten, Isaksson and Rannikko: 241 Swedish technology firms
- [What the public Propel event archive records](https://propel.earth/research/event-archive): Propel's own calendar: 141 rooms, 2025-06-08 to 2026-10-22