The Kauffman Foundation released a report today about "user entrepreneurs" - those who have created innovative products or services for their own use, then subsequently founded firms to commercialize them. The study reveals, among other things, that user entrepreneurs have founded more than 46 percent of innovative startups that have lasted five years or more, even though this group creates only 10.7 percent of U.S. startups overall.
In the first study to quantify the prevalence and characteristics of these founders, the report identifies how the firms they start compare to other U.S. startups in terms of revenue growth, job creation, R&D investment and intellectual property. The findings draw on data from the Kauffman Firm Survey longitudinal study tracking nearly 5,000 firms founded in 2004.
Read the full report at www.kauffman.org/end-user.
