| Abstract: | I examine firm characteristics available to investors at a firm's initial public offering date to determine whether they predict the firm's survival, acquisition, or failure. Firms survive more often than they are acquired when they are venture‐backed, the chief executive officer is the original founder, and an outside blockholder is present. The presence of an outside director does not increase the probability of survival. Firms that are more likely to survive than fail include large firms and those with longer board tenure. |
