Founders' experiences for startups' fast break-even

While some previous studies have found that the role of founders' collective experiences is paramount in resolving problems inherent in startups, others have failed to substantiate this. This study claims that this incongruence is attributable to a failure to consider organizational processes in which founders' experiences translate into organizational assets through information distribution and interpretation. Using the data from the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics, this study demonstrates that startups reach their break-even point faster when their founders have had work experience in the same industry, and that this effect becomes stronger when these firms commit more resources to information distribution and interpretation. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.