SERIAL ENTREPRENEURS AND VENTURE SURVIVAL: EVIDENCE FROM US VENTURE-CAPITAL-FINANCED SEMICONDUCTOR FIRMS

This article investigates the effects of prior firm founding experience, prior venture capital (VC) financing experience, and prior success with regard to subsequent venture survival by distinguishing serial entrepreneurs with and without prior VC financing experience. My analysis shows that ventures founded by serial entrepreneurs perform better than those founded by novice entrepreneurs regardless of whether entrepreneurs had prior success or failure. However, contrary to expectations, this study finds that serial entrepreneurs without prior VC financing experience perform better than serial entrepreneurs with prior VC financing experience, suggesting that there may be an inadvertent cost of learning about the VCs. Copyright (C) 2013 Strategic Management Society.