The effect of lead investor’s human capital on funding performance: The moderating role of investment ambition

•Equity crowdfunding syndicates represent an innovative mode of entrepreneurial financing.•Equity crowdfunding syndicates facilitate crowdfunding by mitigating information asymmetry.•We investigate the effects of lead investors’ multi-faceted human capital on their funding performance.•Lead investors with higher levels of investment experience and entrepreneurial experience display improved funding performance. Lead investors’ investment ambitions moderate the effects of work experience and managerial experience on their funding performance. we did not find significant effects of the educational level and Ivy League education in determining lead investors’ funding performance.•This article contributes to the ongoing discussion on the role of human capital in crowdfunding by offering a multi-faceted view, from an investor’s perspective.•Adds new knowledge to an under-researched financing innovation—a crowdfunding syndicate.