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Leaving the business world behind for a PhD in finance
Johan Ludvig S. Karlsen decided to pursue a PhD in finance at NHH. 'I wasn’t ready to settle for a full-time business job´.
AS PART OF OUR PHD SERIES INTRODUCING CANDIDATES AT NHH, MEET JOHAN KARLSEN!
Name: Johan Ludvig Schmidberger Karlsen
From: Norway
Departement: Department of Finance
Research field: Angel investors
Started: 2019
Main supervisor: Professor Karin S. Thorburn
At 34, PhD candidate Johan Ludvig Schmidberger Karlsen, has reached a pivotal milestone in his academic career, having recently submitted his doctoral thesis. This October, he embarked on a new chapter as an Associate Professor in finance at BI Norwegian Business School.
`I see it as a great opportunity to continue collaborating with my international co-authors, keeping me engaged in the global research community even while living in Bergen, ´ Karlsen shares.
Master' s in financial economics
Although Karlsen has called Bergen home for many years, living there with his girlfriend, their five-year-old daughter, and eight-year-old son, he is originally from Trondheim.
`I completed both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Trondheim, with a year-long exchange at the Macquarie University i Sydney, ´ he recounts.
His master's in financial economics was completed at NTNU in 2015.
Straight out of his master’s, Karlsen I moved to Bergen to start working as a consultant at PwC, where he stayed for two and half years.
`It was not the right fit for me at the time´ he reflects.
`I found myself yearning for more specialization and to be honest, I felt quite young and wasn’t ready to settle into a full-time consulting role´.
Department of Finance
Karlsen started looking for new opportunities.
During his master`s thesis, Karlsen had the opportunity to work under the supervision of Xunhua Su. When Su later moved from NTNU to NHH, a highly regarded academic at the Department of Finance at NHH, Karlsen reached out.
`He was very supportive and encouraged me to explore PhD opportunities. We quickly started discussing research ideas. I became more and more interested and eventually applied for the PhD program´.
Karlsen and his family were happy to stay in Bergen, as they were just starting to get established with kids.
`NHH was the only option I considered, after learning that the finance department at NHH is a high-quality research department with an international reach´.
Angel investors
Karlsen´s academic career has spanned several topics, but his primary focus is on entrepreneurial finance: particularly the role of individual investors, known as angel investors.
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`This field remains under-researched despite the critical role these investors play in funding new ventures´, Karlsen explains.
His work contributes to novel insight into the capital market ang highlights the importance of angel investors. Two key factors motivated Karlsen to study this market segment. The first is the global effort by governments to implement policy tools that encourage individual investments in startups. The second is the rise of online funding platforms that connect investors with emerging businesses.
Call for more research
`What excites you most about your work? ´
`The finance literature and broader society call for more research on this topic, which in itself is exciting´, Karlsen says and adds:
`Just as important is the fact that I am working with top quality researchers from around the world. I owe a big thanks to my supervisors at NHH for helping me connect with some of my current co-authors. It is exciting to work with people from different parts of the world, who are ambitious and work together to get in at the best conferences and publish in top journals in our field´.
Doing a PhD felt like a roller coaster, Karlsen says, with many ups and downs.
`At several points I have been close to quitting. I am so happy that I listened to my encouraging supervisors and made it through´.
Opportunities in Bergen
Adapting to Bergen came easily for Karlsen
`Coming from Trondheim, I immediately appreciated the slightly bigger size of Bergen. At the same time, I like the small city vibe. Everything is close, including nature´.
Karlsen acknowledges that many often talk about Oslo as the hub for career opportunities. However, he firmly believes that Bergen offers strong prospects.
`Workwise, there’s a lot going on here, an exciting place to be when thinking about career opportunities in various industries that are important in Norway and globally. This dynamic provides valuable opportunities for interactions between industry and academia, which is something I hope to leverage in my teaching and research going forward´.
Living in Bergen suits Karlsen well.
`I really like it here. In contrast to Trondheim, where we have bymarka, Bergen offer byfjellene, one of my favorite parts of the city. I also really enjoy the city life, appreciating the nice restaurants and bars Bergen has to offer´.
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