The impact of founder personalities on startup success.

McCarthy, PX; Gong, X; Braesemann, F; Stephany, F; Rizoiu, M-A; Kern, ML

The impact of founder personalities on startup success.

McCarthy, PX Gong, X Braesemann, F Stephany, F Rizoiu, M-A Kern, ML

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Publisher:: Springer Nature
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Sci Rep, 2023, 13, (1), pp. 17200
Issue Date:: 2023-10-17

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	McCarthy, PX
dc.contributor.author	Gong, X
dc.contributor.author	Braesemann, F
dc.contributor.author	Stephany, F
dc.contributor.author	Rizoiu, M-A
dc.contributor.author	Kern, ML
dc.date.accessioned	2023-10-31T05:36:38Z
dc.date.available	2023-09-04
dc.date.available	2023-10-31T05:36:38Z
dc.date.issued	2023-10-17
dc.identifier.citation	Sci Rep, 2023, 13, (1), pp. 17200
dc.identifier.issn	2045-2322
dc.identifier.issn	2045-2322
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/172911
dc.description.abstract	Startup companies solve many of today's most challenging problems, such as the decarbonisation of the economy or the development of novel life-saving vaccines. Startups are a vital source of innovation, yet the most innovative are also the least likely to survive. The probability of success of startups has been shown to relate to several firm-level factors such as industry, location and the economy of the day. Still, attention has increasingly considered internal factors relating to the firm's founding team, including their previous experiences and failures, their centrality in a global network of other founders and investors, as well as the team's size. The effects of founders' personalities on the success of new ventures are, however, mainly unknown. Here, we show that founder personality traits are a significant feature of a firm's ultimate success. We draw upon detailed data about the success of a large-scale global sample of startups (n = 21,187). We find that the Big Five personality traits of startup founders across 30 dimensions significantly differ from that of the population at large. Key personality facets that distinguish successful entrepreneurs include a preference for variety, novelty and starting new things (openness to adventure), like being the centre of attention (lower levels of modesty) and being exuberant (higher activity levels). We do not find one 'Founder-type' personality; instead, six different personality types appear. Our results also demonstrate the benefits of larger, personality-diverse teams in startups, which show an increased likelihood of success. The findings emphasise the role of the diversity of personality types as a novel dimension of team diversity that influences performance and success.
dc.language	eng
dc.publisher	Springer Nature
dc.relation.ispartof	Sci Rep
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1038/s41598-023-41980-y
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject.mesh	Humans
dc.subject.mesh	Personality
dc.subject.mesh	Industry
dc.subject.mesh	Personality Disorders
dc.subject.mesh	Achievement
dc.subject.mesh	Humans
dc.subject.mesh	Personality
dc.subject.mesh	Industry
dc.subject.mesh	Personality Disorders
dc.subject.mesh	Achievement
dc.title	The impact of founder personalities on startup success.
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	13
utslib.location.activity	England
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
dc.date.updated	2023-10-31T05:36:34Z
pubs.issue	1
pubs.publication-status	Published online
pubs.volume	13
utslib.citation.issue	1

Abstract:

Startup companies solve many of today's most challenging problems, such as the decarbonisation of the economy or the development of novel life-saving vaccines. Startups are a vital source of innovation, yet the most innovative are also the least likely to survive. The probability of success of startups has been shown to relate to several firm-level factors such as industry, location and the economy of the day. Still, attention has increasingly considered internal factors relating to the firm's founding team, including their previous experiences and failures, their centrality in a global network of other founders and investors, as well as the team's size. The effects of founders' personalities on the success of new ventures are, however, mainly unknown. Here, we show that founder personality traits are a significant feature of a firm's ultimate success. We draw upon detailed data about the success of a large-scale global sample of startups (n = 21,187). We find that the Big Five personality traits of startup founders across 30 dimensions significantly differ from that of the population at large. Key personality facets that distinguish successful entrepreneurs include a preference for variety, novelty and starting new things (openness to adventure), like being the centre of attention (lower levels of modesty) and being exuberant (higher activity levels). We do not find one 'Founder-type' personality; instead, six different personality types appear. Our results also demonstrate the benefits of larger, personality-diverse teams in startups, which show an increased likelihood of success. The findings emphasise the role of the diversity of personality types as a novel dimension of team diversity that influences performance and success.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/172911