Research on What Makes an Entrepreneur Tick

This is an interesting research report on entrepreneurship in America. Although it leaves God out of the equation, there are some insightful nuggets in this scholarly research report based upon detailed surveys of 549 company founders in a variety of industries, including aerospace and defense, computer and electronics, health care, and services.

Some interesting nuggets:

Entrepreneurship didn’t always run in the family - More than half (51.9 percent) of respondents were the first in their families to launch a business. For 38.8 percent of respondents, their father was the first to start a business in their family; 15.2 percent indicated siblings had previously started businesses.

Married with Children - One common stereotype of an entrepreneur is a childless, unmarried workaholic with no time for a wife or husband and children. This stereotype appears to be false, as 59.7 percent of respondents indicated they had at least one child when they launched their first businesses, and 43.5 percent had two or more children. Additionally, 69.9 percent of respondents indicated they were married when they launched their first businesses.