Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/176668 
Authors: 
Year of Publication: 
2016
Series/Report no.: 
EIF Working Paper No. 2016/38
Publisher: 
European Investment Fund (EIF), Luxembourg
Abstract: 
Start-up growth is often treated as a stylised fact, despite an extensive research body composed of divergent theories and empirical findings. Against this background, this work contributes to the literature by analysing a hand-collected dataset of 2,951 EIF-backed VC start-ups. Section 2 briefly reviews the relevant literature and 3 discusses data and methods. Section 4 uses descriptive statistics to explore average and median growth trends of start-ups, following an EIF-backed VC investment. Section 5 employs a latent class cluster analysis to establish a taxonomy of start-up growth profiles, characterised by speed and bias towards sales or patenting. The observed growth patterns, described in section 6, are typically idiosyncratic and persistent. However, a series of factors affecting growth mode can be evidenced. In particular, this paper finds that the geographic distribution of outperforming start-ups hints at national and regional factors acting as enablers for different typologies of successful growth. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
Subjects: 
EIF
start-up growth
venture capital
growth patterns
JEL: 
M13
G24
L25
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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