Despite an increase in businesses started by celebrities, we have limited understanding as to how celebrity entrepreneurs benefit new ventures. Drawing on a reputational capital perspective, we develop the notion of celebrity capital and show how it can be used to uniquely differentiate the venture and to overcome liabilities of newness. We discuss how celebrity capital can negatively influence the venture in terms of limiting the scope of the venture and when negative information about the celebrity surfaces. We discuss the different strategic implications of celebrity capital for ventures using celebrity entrepreneurs versus endorsers.