Blake Jackson

Welcome! I am a finance Ph.D. student at the University of Florida.

I am on the 2025 - 2026 job market.

My research focuses on private equity, venture capital, and entrepreneurship.

My advisors are Andy Naranjo (U. Florida), Jay R. Ritter (U. Florida), and Ilya A. Strebulaev (Stanford GSB).

My research has been featured in The Economist and Financial Times. I was a visiting student at Stanford GSB in Fall 2023 and 2024. I was the TA for the 2024 NBER Entrepreneurship bootcamp and I co-organize the WEFI Student-Led Workshop.

Info: Curriculum Vitae | blake.jackson@warrington.ufl.edu | Google Scholar | SSRN | LinkedIn

Job Market Paper

How do Barbarians Get to the Gates? Private Equity Careers, Styles, and Returns [SSRN (pdf)]

Presentations: UNC-Chapel Hill Private Equity Research Consortium Symposium (2025) | 21st Annual Olin Finance Conference at Washington University in St. Louis (PhD Poster; 2025) | WEFI Fellows Conference at Columbia Business School (2025) | University of Florida (2025)

Working Papers

(* By coauthor, includes scheduled)

Selling Private Equity Fees [SSRN (pdf)]

With: Minmo Gahng
Awarded: 2022 Private Equity Research Consortium Best Paper Award
Media Coverage: Coller Capital Private Equity Findings | Private Equity International
Presentations: Western Finance Association (WFA) (2024) | UBC Sauder School of Business* (2024) | USC (Darla Moore) Fixed Income and Financial Institutions Conference* (2024) | Institute for Private Capital Spring Symposium* (2024) | SUNY Binghamton* (2024) | U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission* (2024) | University of Florida Presidents Day Weekend Conference (2024) | University of Florida (2024) | London Business School Private Capital Symposium* (2023) | University of Michigan Mitsui Finance Symposium (2023) | UNC-Chapel Hill Private Equity Research Consortium Symposium* (2022)

Political Pressures, Catering, and Return Distortions in Private Equity [SSRN (pdf)]

With: David Ling and Andy Naranjo
Media Coverage: Financial Times | The Economist | Institutional Investor
Presentations: SFS Cavalcade (2023) | ASSA Annual Conference (2024) | Pre-WFA Summer Real Estate Research Symposium (2023) | Institute for Private Capital Spring Symposium (2023) | AREUA Virtual Seminar Series (2023) | University of Florida (2023)

Work in Progress

Human Capital in Venture Capital: Evidence from 100,000 Venture Capitalists

With: Ilya A. Strebulaev
Media Coverage: Poets & Quants | PitchBook
Presentations: London Business School Private Capital Symposium* (2025)