Knowledge-Intensive Entrepreneurship and the Impact of Human Capital

The purpose of this paper is to address selected aspects of human capital in association with the entrepreneurial process in technology-based new ventures. Until recently, research investigating the founding of new businesses has mainly focused on the personal characteristics of entrepreneurs, but this trait approach tends to underestimate the extent to which crucial skills may be acquired. The preliminary findings presented in this paper indicate that it is not so much the inherent personality that is instrumental in founding and growing a new venture. Previous employments as well as entrepreneurial experiences are both considered to be critical to the entrepreneurial process, as they both seem to impact on new venture establishment. The longer the career path before venture founding, the more experience an entrepreneur has gathered. Therefore, age seems to have a positive influence on the success of a newly founded venture. Furthermore, the dimensions of human capital, experience and previous employment, seem to be essential in building the networks that help secure both the early as well as a continuous pool of finance for the ventures