Age and High-Growth Entrepreneurship
Many observers, and many investors, believe that young people are especially likely to produce the most successful new firms. Integrating administrative data on firms, workers, and owners, we study start-ups systematically in the United States and find that successful entrepreneurs are middle-aged,...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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American Economic Association
2021
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/129944 |
| _version_ | 1826216817283039232 |
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| author | Azoulay, Pierre Jones, Benjamin F. Kim, J. Daniel Miranda, Javier |
| author2 | Sloan School of Management |
| author_facet | Sloan School of Management Azoulay, Pierre Jones, Benjamin F. Kim, J. Daniel Miranda, Javier |
| author_sort | Azoulay, Pierre |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Many observers, and many investors, believe that young people are especially likely to produce the most successful new firms. Integrating administrative data on firms, workers, and owners, we study start-ups systematically in the United States and find that successful entrepreneurs are middle-aged, not young. The mean age at founding for the 1-in-1,000 fastest growing new ventures is 45.0. The findings are similar when considering high-technology sectors, entrepreneurial hubs, and successful firm exits. Prior experience in the specific industry predicts much greater rates of entrepreneurial success. These findings strongly reject common hypotheses that emphasize youth as a key trait of successful entrepreneurs. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T16:53:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/129944 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T16:53:53Z |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publisher | American Economic Association |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1299442022-10-03T09:01:16Z Age and High-Growth Entrepreneurship Azoulay, Pierre Jones, Benjamin F. Kim, J. Daniel Miranda, Javier Sloan School of Management Many observers, and many investors, believe that young people are especially likely to produce the most successful new firms. Integrating administrative data on firms, workers, and owners, we study start-ups systematically in the United States and find that successful entrepreneurs are middle-aged, not young. The mean age at founding for the 1-in-1,000 fastest growing new ventures is 45.0. The findings are similar when considering high-technology sectors, entrepreneurial hubs, and successful firm exits. Prior experience in the specific industry predicts much greater rates of entrepreneurial success. These findings strongly reject common hypotheses that emphasize youth as a key trait of successful entrepreneurs. 2021-02-22T16:21:57Z 2021-02-22T16:21:57Z 2020-03 2021-02-03T19:14:22Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 2640-205X 2640-2068 https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/129944 Azoulay, Pierre et al. "Age and High-Growth Entrepreneurship." American Economic Review: Insights 2, 1 (March 2020): 65-82 en http://dx.doi.org/10.1257/aeri.20180582 American Economic Review: Insights Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/pdf American Economic Association American Economic Association |
| spellingShingle | Azoulay, Pierre Jones, Benjamin F. Kim, J. Daniel Miranda, Javier Age and High-Growth Entrepreneurship |
| title | Age and High-Growth Entrepreneurship |
| title_full | Age and High-Growth Entrepreneurship |
| title_fullStr | Age and High-Growth Entrepreneurship |
| title_full_unstemmed | Age and High-Growth Entrepreneurship |
| title_short | Age and High-Growth Entrepreneurship |
| title_sort | age and high growth entrepreneurship |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/129944 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT azoulaypierre ageandhighgrowthentrepreneurship AT jonesbenjaminf ageandhighgrowthentrepreneurship AT kimjdaniel ageandhighgrowthentrepreneurship AT mirandajavier ageandhighgrowthentrepreneurship |