Abstract

In this project, a data set of people who start a business is generated. The basis for this is formed by the founders who are surveyed by the IAB-ZEW Start-up Panel (IAB project 4285). Founders are the central decision-makers in their companies. Knowledge about their employment biographies is therefore of central importance. For example, they provide valuable information on why the development of companies takes a certain path. In addition, insights can be gained into the background of the pronounced regional differences in start-up activity, which persist over long periods of time. The possibility of evaluating the employment biographies of founders is limited. From other biographical data sources, such as the German Socio-Economic Panel of the DIW, there are too few cases of founders. In the Scandinavian region, there exist some data, but these are based only on register data and therefore do not contain information on the firms founded. Therefore, the dataset being developed here offers particularly interesting possibilities.