Abstract:

The essential role of entrepreneurship for economic growth and prosperity determines a constant effort made by researchers and decision-makers in creating and developing suitable business structures to enhance its effects on the economy and society. In this respect, business accelerators, focused mainly on a critical mass of successful entrepreneurs, are able to stimulate and accelerate the development of a significant number of innovative, high growth projects, with a significant impact on the market. In this paper, using the results of a survey applied to a considerable number of start-ups around the world made available by Entrepreneurship Database Program (EDP), we analysed the association between the expected profit margin and the founder's age, and respectively, cumulative work experience. We found that expectations of reaching a certain profit margin are not strongly dependent on the age or work experience of start-up's founder. In line with other contribution in the field, we consider the aim of accelerated growth is not necessarily linked to the youth and limited experience of high growth-focused entrepreneurs.