Data Reveals What it Takes to be an Entrepreneur The Wall Street Journal recently listed some interesting statistics regarding entrepreneurs.  Ewing Marion Kauffman's data was used to create an infographic.  According to the article By the Numbers:  Taking the Measure of Entrepreneurs, the following gives more insight as to who becomes an entrepreneur: Age -- The average age for an entrepreneur is 40 years old. Education -- Over 95% of entrepreneurs hold a bachelor's degree or higher and over 47% have advanced degrees. Background -- Over 71% came from the middle-class and 1% came from extremely rich or extremely poor backgrounds. Funding -- For 70% of entrepreneurs, the main source of funding came from savings. Family -- First borns accounted for over 42% of entrepreneurs. They had an average of 3 siblings.  Just over half of them were the first in their family to start a business.  Nearly 70% were married and nearly 60% had at least one child. Success -- When asked what entrepreneurs felt was important for success, 73% listed luck as an important factor. Location -- The highest numbers of entrepreneurs are in Arizona, Texas and California. The lowest numbers are in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Hawaii.