“The Anatomy of an Entrepreneur” t o d i s c o v e r w h o A m e r i c a n e n t r e p r e n e u r s a r e

a n d w h a t m a k e s t h e m t i c k .

FROM

T h e s u r v e y e d 5 4 9 s u c c e s s f u l b u s i n e s s f o u n d e r s f r o m h i g h - g r o w t h i n d u s t r i e s b e t w e e n

A u g u s t 2 0 0 8 a n d M a r c h 2 0 0 9 .

FROM

Not College Dropouts

Entrepreneurs tend to be highly educated. We found that 95% had

earned bachelor’s degrees and 47% held advanced degrees.

Better Educated Than Their Parents

Their parents weren't nearly as well-educated. Only half the

company founders' fathers and only 34% of the founders' mothers

held bachelor's or advanced degrees.

Ranked at the Top of Their Class in

High School...

Seventy-five percent ranked their academic performance among the

top 30% of the high school class, with a majority (about 52%)

ranking their performance among the top 10%.

...But Drank Their Way Through College

They didn't do as well in college, however. Sixty-seven percent

ranked their academic performance among the top 30% of their

undergraduate class, and a smaller percentage (37.5 %) ranked their

performance among the top 10 percent.

Not from Rich FamiliesNot from Rich Families

Most of the company founders came from middle-class backgrounds

(35% described themselves as upper-middle class and 40% as

lower-middle class). Additionally, 22% said their parents were blue-

collar workers engaged in some form of manual labor.

Less than 1% came from extremely rich or extremely poor

backgrounds

Not First-Born

The average company founder was not the eldest child.

Not the Only Child

Company founders tend to come from fairly large families, with an

average of three siblings.

Married...

About 70% of company founders indicated they were married when

they launched their first business. An additional 5.2% were divorced,

separated, or widowed.

...With Children

Nearly 60% of company founders indicated they had at least one

child when they launched their first business, and 43.5% had two or

more children.

Entrepreneurship Didn't Always

Run in the Family

Just over half of the respondents were not children of entrepreneurs.

Many Caught the Entrepreneurial Bug Later in Life

While half of the company founders had some interest in becoming

an entrepreneur when they were in college, more than a third didn't

even think about it, and just over 13% had little or no interest. Those

from blue-collar backgrounds were more likely to have been

extremely interested in starting a business.

Most Had Relevant Industry Experience

The majority of company founders (over 75%) had worked as

employees at other companies for more than six years before

launching their own companies. Nearly half launched their first

companies with more than 10 years of work experience.

They Could've Landed Jobs

But Didn't

Founders weighed in on a scale of 1 through 5, with 1 meaning not an

important factor and 5 meaning an extremely important factor.

It wasn't that they couldn't get jobs. Over 80% of company founders said that

inability to find traditional employment was not a factor in starting their own

businesses. Only 4.5% said it was an important factor.

So why did they start companies? Just under 75% said their desire to build

wealth was important; 64% said they have always wanted to own their own

companies; 66% liked the appeal of a startup culture; and 60% said that

working for others did not appeal to them.

Once an Entrepreneur,

Always an Entrepreneur

A majority (over 58%) started more than one company. Eight percent

of the company founders had started more than five companies.

Thank for Thank for

reading

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