PRELIMINARY 1 Entrepreneurs from Technology - Based Universities : An Empirical First Look

This paper provides an initial analysis of major patterns and trends in entrepreneurship among technology-based university alumni since the 1930s. We describe findings from two linked datasets joining MIT alumni with MIT founder information. The rate of forming new companies by MIT alumni has grown dramatically over seven decades. Women alumni have in more recent decades become entrepreneurs at a faster growth rate than men, but still constitute only 10% of new entrepreneurs. Alumni who are not U.S. citizens also are entering entrepreneurship at a faster pace than their American classmates, but still constitute only 15% of current entrants. The median age of first time entrepreneurs has gradually declined from about age 40 to about age 30. Our results also suggest that rather than examining stable individual traits, future research in this domain may wish to examine business and strategic environment factors. *Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, 2000 Steinberg-Dietrich Hall, Philadelphia PA 19104. [email protected]; **MIT Sloan School of Management, 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge MA 02142. [email protected]; *** MIT Sloan School of Management, 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge MA 02142. [email protected] Not for copying, distribution or quotation