Tristan L. Botelho

Tristan Botelho’s research centers on the areas of entrepreneurship, evaluations, inequality, and labor markets. With a specific focus on evaluation processes—where individuals assess the quality of individuals, ideas, or work product—Professor Botelho aims to deepen our understanding of how evaluation processes affect stratification, career trajectories, and entrepreneurship, with frequent overlap across these domains.

Professor Botelho’s research develops novel organizational theories and applies rigorous methodologies to address pressing questions in business and society. He explores topics such as how the design and structure of evaluation processes contribute to observed inequalities, how founders and their startups are assessed, and the career challenges faced by failed founders (and their employees) when re-entering the labor market. His research often draws on data collected through collaborations with technology-focused firms and uses diverse methodologies, including field experiments.

His research has appeared in leading peer-reviewed research journals, including Administrative Science Quarterly, Organization Science, and Management Science, earning multiple best paper awards and designations. Professor Botelho’s work has also been discussed in various media outlets, such as Bloomberg, the Financial Times, and the Harvard Business Review.

Professor Botelho was named one of the 30 people whose ideas will make an important impact on management thinking in the future by Thinkers50 (2024). Additionally, he was selected as one of the Best 40 Under 40 Professors by Poets & Quants (2020). 

Selected Media Coverage

Research: How Gig Platforms Can Mitigate Racial Bias in Ratings
Tristan L. Botelho, Katherine A. DeCelles, Demetrius Humes and Sora Jun
Harvard Business Review
March 14, 2025

Are Former Startup Founders Less Hireable?
Tristan L. Botelho and Melody H. Chang
Harvard Business Review
June 28, 2022

Research: Objective Performance Metrics Are Not Enough to Overcome Gender Bias
Tristan L. Botelho and Mabel Abraham
Harvard Business Review
October 25, 2017