According to a 1993 article titled: “From Punishment to Expression: A History of Tattoos in Corrections,” a rise in tattoos and their correlation with incarceration during the 1930s provoked negative responses from employers.

Nearly 100 years later, however, new research suggests a very different employer perspective.

G. Brint Ryan Chair in Entrepreneurship Jeremy Short, alongside UNT PhD Candidate Paula A. Kincaid and Professor Marcus T. Wolfe of The University of Oklahoma, released findings that link tattoos with entrepreneurial success in their study, “Got ink, get paid? Exploring the impact of tattoo visibility on crowdfunding performance."

"We found that entrepreneurs revealing their tattoos on crowdfunding campaigns experience a significant increase in crowdfunding performance," said Short. "Using 619 crowdfunding campaigns on the Kickstarter crowdfunding platform, our results suggest this increase in crowdfunding performance is likely attributed to backers’ perception of the entrepreneur’s or venture’s creativity."

Looking at numbers of supporters and total amounts pledged, Short and his co-authors also found "that visible tattoo displays can be particularly beneficial for campaigns that are lower in alternative displays of creativity, such as creative language or imaginative writing."

Simply put--entrepreneurs shouldn't hide their tattoos on crowdfunding platforms.

While further research can be done to explain potential relationships between types of tattoo expressions (i.e. color usage in tattoos) and positive crowdfunding performance, these initial findings provide a sigh of relief for thousands of inked businessmen and women.

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