Exploring the impact of different types of prior entrepreneurial experience on employer firm performance

We investigate the impact of prior entrepreneurial experience on current performance of firms with employees (employer firms). We distinguish between external entrepreneurial experience obtained outside of the current firm and internal entrepreneurial experience obtained within the boundaries of the employer firm currently run. Regarding the latter we focus on a special type of prior internal experience, i.e. as an own-account worker before scaling up to employer firm. Theoretically, both types of prior entrepreneurial experience are associated with different processes of learning-by-doing. Empirically, we find that both external entrepreneurial experience and internal experience as an own-account worker enhance employer firm performance. Our results therefore imply that, for individuals without any prior entrepreneurial experience wishing to start a new firm, a lean start-up strategy (as an own-account worker) is to be preferred over a more resourceful strategy hiring employees from the start.