From laboratory to market: on the propensity of young inventors to form a new business

Many researchers have studied correlates of business formation. Through the case-based and statistical literature, several broad categories of influence on the entrepreneurial decision to start a new business have been identified. We contribute to this literature through statistical analysis of a unique database of young inventive scientists and engineers and their propensity toward new business formation. Our particular focus is on young inventors starting a business based on their creative achievements. Among this group, we do not find empirical support for the influence of traditional variables such as age, education, and gender on the propensity to start a new business. Rather, we find that their entrepreneurial experience as a new business proprietor is driven by dimensions of their university laboratory research experience.