Startup Business Characteristics and 

Dynamics: A Data Analysis of the 

Kauffman Firm Survey

A Working Paper 

by 

Ying Lowrey 

Office of Advocacy

for 

Release Date: August 2009 

The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations found in this study are those of the 

author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Office of Advocacy, the United States Small 

Business Administration, or the United States government. 
Contents 

Executive Summary............................................................................................................ 5 

The Economic Importance of Business Startups ............................................................ 5 

Characteristics of KFS Businesses.................................................................................. 5 

Dynamics of KFS Businesses ......................................................................................... 7 

I. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 8 

II. The Economic Importance of Business Startups.......................................................... 10 

III. Characteristics of KFS Businesses.............................................................................. 13 

Methods of Starting a Business..................................................................................... 13 

Primary Business Location ........................................................................................... 15 

Two-Digit North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)......................... 21 

Firm Size and the Utilization of Human Capital .......................................................... 24 

Employer vs. Non-Employer Businesses...................................................................... 27 

Legal Form of Business ................................................................................................ 28 

IV. Dynamics of KFS Businesses..................................................................................... 34 

Expanding Employers................................................................................................... 34 

Businesses with Growing Revenues ............................................................................. 37 

Firms that Went Out of Business: A Comparison of Startups and Survivors............... 38 

V. Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 43 

Appendix 1: Survey Data and Methodology ................................................................... 45 

Appendix 2: Software and Statistics................................................................................ 46 

Appendix 3: Legal Form of Business and Other Variables ............................................. 48 

Appendix 4: Data Tables ................................................................................................. 51 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 2
Tables 

Table 1: Estimated Total Employment Created by KFS Sample Firms, 2004 .............................10 

Table 2: Estimated Total Business Owners of the KFS Sample Firms, 2004 ..............................11 

Table 3: Estimated Total Value of Revenue Produced by Firms in the KFS Sample, 

2004-2006 .................................................................................................................12 

Table 4: Estimated Value of Payroll Provided by Employer Firms in the KFS Sample, 

2004-2006 .................................................................................................................13 

Table 5: Methods of Starting a Business in the KFS Sample, 2004.............................................14 

Table 6: Profile of New and Acquired Startups in the KFS Sample, 2004 and 2006...................15 

Table 7: Primary Business Location of Firms in the KFS Sample, 2004-2006............................16 

Table 8: Industry Concentration of Home-Based and Non-Home-Based Firms in the KFS 

Sample, Unweighted Data, 2004 and 2006...............................................................17 

Table 9: Cross-tabulation of 2004 and 2006 Primary Location of Business of Startups in the 

KFS Sample ..............................................................................................................18 

Table 10: Reasons for Changing Business Location, 2005 and 2006...........................................18 

Table 11: Legal Form and Primary Business Location, 2006 ......................................................19 

Table 12: Cross-tabulation of Assets and Primary Business Location, 2004 and 2006 ...............20 

Table 13: Cross-tabulation of Revenue and Primary Business Location, 2006 ...........................20 

Table 14: Business Entry-Exit Count by Industrial Classification, 2004-2006............................22 

Table 15: Business Survival of Selected Industries, 2004-2006...................................................23 

Table 16: Size and Total Employment of KFS Sample Firms, 2004-2006 ..................................25 

Table 17: Size and Total Operational Owners of KFS Sample Firms, 2004-2006.......................25 

Table 18: Employee Size of KFS Sample Firms by Legal Form of Business, 2006....................26 

Table 19: Employee Size of KFS Sample Firms by Primary Business Location, 2004 

and 2006....................................................................................................................27 

Table 20: Statistical Profile of Employer vs. Nonemployer Firms, 2004-2006 ...........................28 

Table 21: Confirmed Legal Form of Business in the KFS, 2004-2006........................................29 

Table 22: Cross-tabulation of 2004 and 2006 Legal Forms of Business......................................29 

Table 23: Comparison of 2004 and 2006 Legal Form of Business..............................................30 

Table 24: Revenue of Firms With Changed and Unchanged Legal Form of Business................31 

Table 25: Number of Business Owners and Firm’s Legal Form in 2004 and 2006 .....................32 

Table 26: Number of Firms and Employees by Legal Form of Business, 2004 and 2006..........32 

Table 27: Assets and Legal Form of Business, 2004 and 2006....................................................33 

Table 28: Revenue and Legal Form of Business, 2004 and 2006 ................................................33 

Table 29: Ownership Size of Expanding Employers, 2005 and 2006 ..........................................35 

Table 30: Legal Form of Expanding Employers, 2005 and 2006.................................................35 

Table 31: Expanding Employers’ Primary Business Location, 2004 and 2005 ...........................36 

Table 32: Employee Size of Expanding Employers, 2005 and 2006 ...........................................36 

Table 33: Businesses with Growing Revenues and Size of Ownership, 2005 and 2006..............37 

Table 34: Businesses with Growing Revenues by Size of Revenues, 2005 and 2006 .................37 

Table 35: Businesses with Growing Revenues by Size of Profits, 2005 and 2006 ......................38 

Table 36: Businesses with Growing Revenues by Asset Size, 2005 and 2006 ............................38 

Table 37: Method of Exiting Business in the KFS, 2005 and 2006 .............................................39 

Table 38: Comparison of KFS Sample Firms: Startups, Exits and Survivors, 2004-2006...........40 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 3
Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 4

Table 39: Business Characteristics of KFS Sample Firms by NAICS Codes, 2004-2006...........42 

Table A1: Cross-tabulation of Firms by Number of Employees and Legal Form, 2004..............51 

Table A2: Cross-tabulation of Firms in 2004 NAICS Code by 2005 NAICS Code ....................52 

Table A3: Profile of New and Independent Startups, 2004 and 2006 ..........................................53 

Table A4: Performance of Firms that were Not Newly and Independently Created....................54 

Table A5: Cross-tabulation of 2006 Assets and Legal Form of Business....................................54 

Table A6: Cross-tabulation of 2006 Revenue and Legal Form of Business.................................55 

Table A7: Statistical Profile of Employer vs. Nonemployer Firms in the KFS, 2004-2006 ........55 

Table A8: Number of Business Owners, 2004 and 2005..............................................................56 

Table A10: Primary Business Location, 2004 and 2005 ..............................................................56 

Table A12: Business Assets, 2004 and 2005................................................................................57 

Table A13: Number of Total Owners and Employees 2004 Startups that were Sold or 

Merged with another Business in 2005.....................................................................57 

Table A14: Number of Total Owners and Employees in a 2004 Startup that was out of 

Business in 2005 .......................................................................................................58 

Table A15: Number of Total Owners and Employees in a Firm that Stayed in Business 

in 2005 ......................................................................................................................58 

Table A16: Primary Business Location and Firms that Went out of or Stayed in Business, 

2005...........................................................................................................................58 

Table A17: Primary Business Location (2005) and Ways of Out of Business (2006).................59 

Table A18: Number of Total Owners and Employees of Businesses in Existence in 2005 

that Ceased Operations in 2006 ................................................................................59 

Table A19: Number of Total Owners and Employees in Businesses in Existence in 2005 

that Stayed in Business in 2006 ................................................................................59 
Executive Summary 

The purpose of this report is to contribute to a better understanding of American business 

startups and their dynamics. The American economy relies upon vigorous and pervasive business 

startups to inject new energy, acquire new knowledge and technologies, create new jobs, and 

provide new goods and services for its extended growth. Sustainable economic growth is key to 

our nation’s long-term prosperity. The report includes sample data analysis based on the 

Kauffman Firm Survey (KFS), a panel study created using a stratified random sample of all 

startups in 2004 from the Dun & Bradstreet database with follow-up surveys on these firms for 

2005 and 2006. The results of this report are not meant to be extrapolated to the national startup 

population. 

The Economic Importance of Business Startups

 Startup businesses in the KFS sample created an average of 5.5 jobs per firm in 2004; this 

includes not only 4.1 paid employee positions, but also 1.4 entrepreneurial positions. 

 Firms in the KFS sample generated an estimated value of more than $575 million in 

revenue in 2004 when starting their businesses. By 2006, the total estimated revenue of 

KFS sample firms had increased to $879 million, or 53 percent; the payroll per KFS 

employee grew 56 percent between 2004 and 2006. 

Characteristics of KFS Businesses

 Over 92 percent of all KFS sample startups were new, independent businesses; about 7 

percent were purchased from existing businesses or franchises. Franchises had higher 

average levels of assets, profits, revenues and wages than new, independently created 

firms. They also had more employees, more operational owners, and lower rates of going 

out of business than independent businesses. 

 Half of KFS sample firms were home based between 2004 and 2006. Around 40 percent 

operated their business at rented or leased places, and 5-7 percent of them operated at 

their own purchased spaces. 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 5
 Four industries accounted for the largest share of home-based KFS sample startups in 

2004: professional services (31 percent), manufacturing (13 percent), construction (10 

percent), and administrative services (10 percent). For non-home-based startups, the top 

four industries were: manufacturing (23 percent), professional services (17 percent), 

retail trade (14 percent), and administrative service (6 percent). 

 The overall survival rate of KFS sample firms between 2004 and 2005 was 94 percent, 

ranging from a high of 97 percent for real estate, rental and leasing (NAICS 53) to a low 

of 89 percent for accommodation and food services (NAICS 72). The overall survival 

rate in 2006 was one percentage point lower than in 2005. The highest was 94 percent for 

forestry, fishing and hunting, and agricultural support services (NAICS 11), and the 

lowest was 87 percent for education services (NAICS 61). 

 About 59 percent of KFS sample startups in 2004 reported zero employees; the rest were 

employer firms. 

 Firms with 10 or fewer employees made up 91 percent of all employer firms, and 

provided 61 percent of total employment in the KFS sample in 2004. These two 

percentages dropped to 88 and 52, respectively, in 2006.

 About 80 percent of total home-based business jobs were created by firms with 10 or 

fewer workers. About 21 percent in 2004 and 25 percent in 2006 of non-home-based 

business jobs were provided by firms with 25 or more employees in the KFS sample.

 Overall, employer firms had a stronger financial profile than nonemployer firms. 

Moreover, the share of employer firms in the total KFS sample increased from 41 percent 

in 2004 to 62 percent in 2006. 

 Most of the jobs in the KFS sample were generated by LLCs (33 percent), S corporations 

(33 percent), and C corporations (17 percent) in 2004. Less than 9 percent of total KFS 

sample firms were C corporations. 

 By 2006, 34 percent of existing businesses in the KFS sample had changed their legal 

form. On average, firms that changed their legal status had higher revenues than others. 

 By 2006, the share of single owners had increased in all firms except those organized as 

C corporations, compared with 2004. More than 75 percent of general partnerships had 

two owners. 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 6
Dynamics of KFS Businesses

 In 2005, 41 percent of all firms in the KFS sample added workers; 31.1 percent in 2006. 

Businesses with multiple owners had a higher rate of growth than those with single 

owners. 

 C corporations, S corporations and limited partnerships had higher rates of growth than 

other kinds of businesses in the KFS sample. Sole proprietors had lower rates of growth. 

In 2005, 42.4 percent of limited partnerships increased employment. This percentage rose 

to 50 percent in 2006.

 About half of non-home-based businesses in the KFS sample increased employment in 

2005, and about 40 percent did so in 2006; 33 percent of home-based businesses added 

employees in 2005, and 25 percent in 2006. 

 About 45 percent of employer firms in the KFS sample and 44 percent of nonemployer 

firms reported revenue growth in 2005; these two numbers were 23 percent and 28 

percent, respectively, in 2006. 

 About 60 percent of all employer firms in the KFS sample with expanding revenues had 

more than $100,000 revenue in both 2005 and 2006; about half of the nonemployer firms 

with expanding revenues were in the $10,001-to-$100,000 revenue category. 

 Six percent of the KFS sample firms went out of business either temporarily or 

permanently in 2005, and an additional 7 percent in 2006. In 2005, 13 percent of these 

were sold or merged with other companies, and 16 percent in 2006. 

 One in three of the KFS startups operated as a sole proprietor in 2004; among all KFS 

sample firms that went out of business in 2005 and 2006, two in five were sole 

proprietors. Among the firms surviving in 2006, 33 percent were LLCs, 30 percent were 

sole proprietors, and 24 percent were S corporations. 

 Two-thirds of closed firms had no paid employees in 2005; in 2006, this figure was 51.5 

percent. Among all firms in the KFS sample with expanding employment, nearly 30 

percent were in the manufacturing industry and 21 percent in real estate, rental or leasing 

industries. 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 7
I. Introduction 

The American economy relies upon vigorous and pervasive business startups to inject new 

energies, acquire new knowledge, create new technologies, and provide new goods and services 

for its extended growth. Sustainable economic growth is the key to our nation’s long-term 

prosperity. Due to the difficulties of data collection and their complexity, information on 

business startups is still relatively unknown to academics, policymakers and business 

communities. Fortunately, under the leadership of Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the new 

Kauffman Firm Survey (KFS) provides comprehensive information about American business 

startups, especially those in high-technology and high-growth geographic regions.1

 The goal of 

this report is to look into general static and dynamic characteristics of the KFS sample of startups 

between 2004 and 2006 by providing tabulations from many different angles for a wide range of 

audiences.2

The main objective of KFS data collection is to address the informational gaps related to the 

study of entrepreneurship. While focusing on several particular issues relating to business 

startups, the KFS was designed “to meet the information needs of as many potential data users as 

possible.” 3 Because of the nature of KFS samples (as will be discussed later), this report does 

not intend to extrapolate the result from a large group of high-technology and high-growth 

startups to the national startup population. However, findings from this report are believed to 

provide the greatest insights into high-technology oriented startups and high-growth young firms. 

The KFS provides tracking information on business startups. Its panel of businesses was created 

by using a random sample from the list of U.S. new businesses started in 2004 in the Dun & 

Bradstreet (D&B) database. The list included approximately 250,000 startups. The KFS created 

 

1

 Certain data included herein are derived from the Kauffman Firm Survey release 1.0 (Ewing Marion Kauffman 

Foundation, Kansas City, MO; http://sites.kauffman.org/kfs/index.cfm). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or 

recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the 

Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. 

2

 The author would like to express appreciation to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, and to Alicia Robb, 

Brian Headd, Rebecca Krafft, Jules Lichtenstein, Shawne McGibbon, Chad Moutray, Ernst Nilsson, Bruce Phillips, 

and Jim VanWert. 

3

 The particular goal of the KFS was to learn more about the development of high-technology and women-owned 

businesses, new businesses’ financial experiences, and the business and owner characteristics that are associated 

with business success. See “The Kauffman Firm Survey—Results from the Baseline and First Follow-Up Surveys,” 

March, 2008, http://ssrn.com/abstract=1098173. 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 8
the panel that included three kinds of startup businesses: those that were 1) founded by a single 

person or a team of people; 2) purchased from existing businesses by a new ownership team; and 

3) purchased franchise by a new owner or a team. The KFS panel excluded businesses that were 

wholly owned subsidiaries of existing businesses, businesses inherited from someone else, and 

not-for-profit organizations.4

The KFS used a simple stratified sampling design. It oversampled substantially the businesses in 

the high technology stratum. It also oversampled the medium technology businesses relative to 

the non-technology ones. Therefore, the sampling weights take this oversampling into account to 

remove the potential bias in the estimates of KFS population relative to unweighted estimates. 

Also, the response rate differed by such factors as legal status, ownership, and age and education 

of the owner. The nonresponse adjustments were designed to minimize potential nonresponse 

bias in the estimates. Most tables in the report used respondent firm data (or sample count). 

Weighted information is also provided from time to time to remind readers about the existence of 

certain distortions due to over- or under-sampling. Readers should not interpret figures or tables 

in this report as estimates of the national business startup population. The final chosen universe 

of the KFS data includes 4,928 businesses started in 2004. The database includes 2,166 variables 

for each case. 

The remainder of the report is organized as follows. Section II stresses the economic importance 

of business startups by demonstrating the number of ventures that were created by KFS 

entrepreneurs, number of jobs provided by KFS employer and the revenue and assets that were 

generated by all KFS sample firms. Section III illustrates characteristics of KFS sample firms 

such as methods of starting business, primary business locations, number of business owners, 

industrial distribution (by NAICS Code), and legal form of KFS sample firms. Section IV looks 

into the dynamic nature of KFS sample firms: some of them grew, some of them went out of 

operation, but most of them stayed in business. And finally, Section V concludes the report. 

 

4

 For detailed KFS information, see Appendix 1. 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 9
II. The Economic Importance of Business Startups 

Business startups invigorate the economy by creating new ventures, providing jobs, and 

generating wealth. Table 1 shows the impact of the KFS sample base of 4,928 new ventures. 

Of these, 1,985, or 40 percent, were employer firms, and they provided more than 8,117 jobs. Of 

all KFS employer firms, 88 percent were new and independent startups, and they were 

responsible for 77 percent of total KFS sample employment in 2004. The average number of 

employees per employer startup in the sample was 4.1. This number is lower than the one 

generated by the U.S. Bureau of the Census’s Business Dynamic Statistics, an estimated 6.0 jobs 

created at the birth of an establishment in 2004.5

 Startups in the KFS sample that had been 

acquired or were franchises6 provided an average of 7.9 jobs per firm; new independent startups 

created 3.6 jobs per firm. 

Table 1: Estimated Total Employment Created by KFS Sample Firms, 

2004 

Total Startups New and Independent Startups1 Acquired Startups2 

Number of 

Employees in a 

Firm 

Firm 

Sample 

Count 

Total 

Employees 

Firm 

Sample 

Count 

Firm 

Sample 

Percent 

Total 

Employees 

Firm 

Sample 

Count 

Firm 

Sample 

Percent 

Total 

Employees 

N.A. 105 N.A. 100 2.2 N.A. -- -- -- 

Zero 2838 0 2724 59.6 0 114 32.3 0 

One 690 690 660 14.4 660 30 8.5 30 

2 to 10 1121 4267 972 21.3 3610 149 42.2 657 

11 to 24 119 1785 87 1.9 1285 32 9.1 500 

25 or More 55 1375+ 27 0.6 675+ 28 7.9 700+ 

Total 4928 8117+ 4570 100.0 6230+ 353 100.0 1887+ 

Number of 

Employer Firms 

(Percent) 

1985 

(100%) 

1746

(88%) 

239 

(12%) 

Employees per 

Employer Firm3 4.1 3.6 7.9 

N.A.: Missing data. 

1. Eighty-eight percent of all employer startups in the KFS sample were new, independent businesses created by 

a single person or a team of people. 

2. The other 12 percent of all startups in the KFS sample were either acquired businesses or franchises, or 

businesses started some other way. 

3. The total estimated employees divided by total employer firms (excluding firms that did not report employee 

information). 

 

5

 Source: Longitudinal Business Database 1977-2005, http://www.ces.census.gov/index.php/bds/bds_database_list. 6

 These include purchased existing businesses, purchased franchises, or businesses started some other way. 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 10
When focusing on job creation, one important role of business startups is often overlooked: the 

employment of the entrepreneurs themselves. Startups not only provide paid jobs to members of 

the labor force; they also put entrepreneurs (or business operators) to work. In the KFS sample, 

4,928 new startups utilized the efforts of 6,871 entrepreneurs. Using weighted data, this can be 

shown to represent 73,279 startups and 101,200 owners in 2004 (Table 2).7

Table 2: Estimated Total Business Owners of the KFS Sample Firms, 

2004 

Number of Firm Owners Sample 

Count1 

Share of 

Sample 

(Percent) 

Total 

Owners in 

KFS 

Sample2 

Weighted 

Count3 

Share of 

Weighted 

Sample 

(Percent) 

KFS Estimated 

Total Number 

of Owners4 

One Owner 3,445 69.9 3,445 51,448 70.2 51,448 

Two Owners 1,168 23.7 2,336 17,672 24.1 35,343 

Three or More 315 6.4 1,090 4,159 5.7 14,409 

Total 4,928 100.0 6,871 73,279 100.0 101,200 

Average Number of 

Owners per Firm5 -- -- 1.39 -- -- 1.38 

Notes: KFS over-sampled startups with three or more owners and under-sampled firms with one or two owners. 

1. Total count of firms in KFS. 

2. Number of owners that helped operate a startup business in 2004. All business owners here were operational 

owners; pure equity owners were excluded. 

3. The estimated startup business count represented by KFS sample using the weights created by the KFS. 

4. The estimated number of business owners represented by KFS sample using the weights created by the KFS. 

5. The average number of owners per business estimated by the sample count and estimated count. 

Table 2 implies that an average of approximately 1.4 entrepreneurs was needed to start a single 

business. In other words, one can estimate that a total number of entrepreneurs equal to 1.4 times 

the total number of startups participated in economic activities.8

 This number is slightly higher 

than the 2002 national startup level of 1.23 estimated by using the U.S. Bureau of Census’s 

Survey of Business Owners (SBO) respondent data.9

 Considering that at least half a million 

firms start every year in the United States, this is a massive injection of productive human capital 

into the economy; these entrepreneurs’ vibrant economic activity encompasses inventing or 

 

7

 About 70 percent of total startups had one business owner, 24 percent had two owners, and 6 percent had more 

than 2 owners. 

8

 The KFS weighted average was 1.38, while the unweighted sample average was 1.39, a difference of about 0.01. 9

 KFS is the only survey on startups with information on up to 10 business owners. The U.S. Census’ Survey of 

Business Owners (SBO) only surveyed business owners up to four. One can find SBO respondent data at 

http://www.census.gov/econ/sbo/index.html. 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 11
innovating new technologies, creating new products, providing new services, expanding new 

markets, seeking financial resources, hiring new employees, meeting demand, and balancing 

budgets. 

Using the mid-point calculating method, Table 3 estimates the value of business revenue 

generated by the KFS sample firms. The number (and proportion) of firms that did not generate 

any revenue decreased from 1,704 (35.9 percent) in 2004, to 960 (24.5 percent) in 2005 and 804 

(23.9 percent) in 2006. At the same time, the total value of revenue increased from $575 million 

in 2004 to $852 million in 2005 and $879 million in 2006. The average revenue per firm grew 

annually: $121,358 in 2004, $217,559 in 2005 and $261,499 in 2006. 

Table 3: Estimated Total Value of Revenue Produced by Firms in the 

KFS Sample, 2004-2006 

2004 2005 2006 

Value Firm 

Count Percent Estimated Value1 

Firm 

Count Percent Estimated Value1

Firm 

Count Percent Estimated Value1

$0 1704 35.9 $0 960 24.5 $0 804 23.9 $0 

$500 or less 131 2.8 $32,750 68 1.7 $17,000 42 1.3 $10,500 

$501 to $1,000 89 1.9 $66,750 50 1.3 $37,500 36 1.1 $27,000 

$1,001 to $3,000 221 4.7 $442,000 120 3.1 $240,000 93 2.8 $186,000 

$3,001 to $5,000 146 3.1 $584,000 110 2.8 $440,000 76 2.3 $304,000 

$5,001 to $10,000 291 6.1 $2,182,500 205 5.2 $1,537,500 128 3.8 $960,000 

$10,001 to $25,000 443 9.3 $7,752,500 347 8.9 $6,072,500 262 7.8 $4,585,000 

$25,001 to $100,000 868 18.3 $54,250,000 776 19.8 $48,500,000 616 18.3 $38,500,000 

$100,001 to $1 million 751 15.8 $413,050,000 1081 27.6 $594,550,000 1047 31.1 $575,850,000 

$1,000,001 or more 97 2.1 $97,000,000 201 5.1 $201,000,000 259 7.7 $259,000,000 

Total 4741 100.0 $575,360,500 3918 100.0 $852,394,500 3363 100.0 $879,422,500 

Average Revenue 

per Firm $121,358 $217,559 $261,499 

1. All dollar values are in nominal terms. 

2. The value of revenue was estimated using the mid-point value from the survey category value. For example, the 

mid-point value of revenue category “$25,001 to $100,000” is $62,500. 

The growth of payroll provided by KFS sample firms was impressive: 88 percent between 2004 

and 2005 and more than 10 percent between 2005 and 2006 (Table 4). The average payroll per 

employer firms increased each year: $113,471 in 2004, $174,453 in 2005 and $211,834 in 2006. 

The average payroll per employee was also on the rise: $26,267 in 2004, $36,372 in 2005 and 

$40,985 in 2006. 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 12
Table 4: Estimated Value of Payroll Provided by Employer Firms in the 

KFS Sample, 2004-2006 

2004 2005 2006 

Value Firm 

Count Percent Estimated Value1 

Firm 

Count Percent Estimated Value1

Firm 

Count Percent Estimated Value1

$0 442 23.5 $0 465 20.3 $0 398 19.1 $0 

$500 or less 58 3.1 $14,500 50 2.2 $12,500 31 1.5 $7,750 

$501 to $1,000 31 1.7 $23,250 31 1.4 $23,250 18 0.9 $13,500 

$1,001 to $3,000 89 4.7 $178,000 70 3.1 $140,000 46 2.2 $92,000 

$3,001 to $5,000 68 3.6 $272,000 69 3.0 $276,000 47 2.3 $188,000 

$5,001 to $10,000 149 7.9 $1,117,500 114 5.0 $855,000 102 4.9 $765,000 

$10,001 to $25,000 224 11.9 $3,920,000 253 11.0 $4,427,500 202 9.7 $3,535,000 

$25,001 to $100,000 519 27.6 $32,437,500 643 28.0 $40,187,500 567 27.2 $35,437,500 

$100,001 to $1 million 275 14.6 $151,250,000 542 23.6 $298,100,000 600 28.8 $330,000,000 

$1,000,001 or more 24 1.3 $24,000,000 56 2.4 $56,000,000 71 3.4 $71,000,000 

Total 1879 100.0 $213,212,750 2293 100.0 $400,021,750 2082 100.0 $441,038,750 

Average Payroll 

per Employer Firm $113,471 $174,453 $211,834 

Average Payroll 

per Employee2 $26,267 $36,372 $40,985

Notes: All dollar values are in nominal term. 

1. The value of revenue was estimated using mid-point value from survey category value. For example, the midpoint value of payroll category “$25,001 to $100,000” is $62,500. 

2. The total employment of the KFS sample firms was 8,117 in 2004, 10,998 in 2005 and 10,761 in 2006. 

III. Characteristics of KFS Businesses 

Methods of Starting a Business

How was a business started? KFS asked questions about whether the business started as “a new 

business, branch or subsidiary owned by an existing business;” or “a business inherited from 

someone else,” or “an organization designed for social and charitable objectives and legally 

established as a ‘not-for-profit.’” Respondents whose enterprises fell into any of these three 

categories were excluded. Ultimately the KFS database encompassed 4,928 responses, 

representing the four kinds of startups listed in Table 5. Over 92 percent of KFS startups were 

new, independent business created by a single person or a team of people; about 7 percent were 

purchased from existing businesses or franchises. 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 13
Table 5: Methods of Starting a Business in the KFS Sample, 2004 

Methods of Business Startups Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Weighted 

Count* 

Weighted 

Percent* 

New, independent business created by a single 

person or a team of people 4,570 92.7 67,511 92.1 

Purchase of an existing business 240 4.9 3,713 5.1 

Purchase of a franchise 109 2.2 1,917 2.6 

Business started some other way 9 0.2 137 0.2 

Total 4,928 100.0 73,278 100.0 

* For detailed information of weighted count and weighted percent, see Alicia Robb and David 

DesRoches, “Kauffman Firm Survey: Baseline/First/Second Follow-Up,” May 6, 2008. 

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1024312&rec=1&srcabs=1284474. 

Table 6 gives business profiles of new and acquired KFS startups in 2004 and 2006. The detailed 

statistics can be found in Appendix 5. Numbers presented here are an average of variables 

highlighting the business profile of newly established startups or those purchased from existing 

businesses or franchises. The profile includes the average level of assets, number of employees, 

number of operational owners, profits, revenue, wages paid to employees, and rate of business 

closure.10

The average total assets for new, independent businesses created by a single person or a team of 

people was slightly above asset category 5 ($5,001 to $10,000) in 2004, but it increased to near 

category 6 ($10,001 to $25,000) in 2006. The average number of employees of startup employers 

was 3.568 in 2004. It increased to 4.743 in 2006. The average operational owners increased to 

1.448 in 2006 from 1.383 in 2004. The 2005 rate of business exit was 6.2 percent, compared with 

6.6 percent in 2006. Despite the exit rate being higher in 2006 than in 2005, the business profile 

as measured by average total assets, total employees, total profits, total revenues, and total wages 

had all improved. Notably, more firms hired employees (1,746 in 2004 increased to 1,954 in 

2006), and more firms provided payroll (1,649 in 2004 but 1,874 in 2006). 

 

10 Business owners mentioned in this report include all owner-operators but exclude sole equity investors. 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 14
Table 6: Profile of New and Acquired Startups in the KFS Sample, 2004 

and 2006 

Level of 

Assets 

Number of 

Employees1

Number of 

Operational 

Owners2 

Level of 

Profit 

Level of 

Revenue 

Level of 

Wages1 

Rate of 

Business 

Closure

2004 Profile of New, Independent Firms Created in 2004 

Average 5.129 3.568 1.383 4.086 3.819 4.500 6.2%3

Observations 4561 1746 4570 1949 4396 1649 4570

2006 Profile of New, Independent Firms Created in 2004 

 Average 5.978 4.743 1.448 5.234 5.272 5.456 6.6%

 Observations 3151 1954 3155 2042 3130 1874 4570

2004 Profile of Firms Newly Acquired or Franchised in 2004 4 

 Average 6.686 7.895 1.534 4.856 5.325 6.049 5.0%3

 Observations 354 239 358 132 345 226 358

2006 Profile of Firms Newly Acquired or Franchised in 20044 

 Average 6.966 7.817 1.566 5.862 6.124 6.813 4.7%

 Observations 234 191 235 145 233 182 358

Notes: All numbers here are expressed as averages. “Levels” were the average of dollar value 

categories measuring KFS sample firms’ assets, profit, revenue and total wages (see Appendix 3 for 

details). 

1. Observations were selected from employer firms only. 

2. Average number of business owners involved in operation (solely equity contributors were 

excluded). 

3. Rate of firms that were out of business in 2005. 

4. Firms examined here are businesses acquired by single persons or teams of people; they were 

either purchased as existing businesses or franchises or started some other way. 

Acquired firms had a stronger business profile than newly created businesses in all categories on 

average. They had higher levels of total assets, profit, revenue, and wages; more employees and 

operational owners; and a lower rate of firm exit (5.0 percent in 2005 and 4.7 percent in 2006). 

Primary Business Location

The 2002 Survey of Business Owners (SBO) reported that approximately half of the 16.7 

million SBO respondent firms were home based. Four industries accounted for the largest share 

of home-based businesses: professional, scientific, and technical services (19 percent); 

construction (16 percent); retail trade (11 percent); and other services, such as personal services 

and repair and maintenance (10 percent). Fifty-eight percent of businesses with no paid 

employees were home based compared to 22 percent of firms with paid employees. The SBO 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 15
also shows that 64.7 percent of businesses with receipts of less than $5,000 were home based 

compared to only 5.8 percent of firms with receipts of $1 million or more. 

Table 7: Primary Business Location of Firms in the KFS Sample, 2004-

2006 

2004 2005 2006 

Business Location Sample 

Count 

Sample

Percent

Weighted 

Percent 

Sample 

Count

Sample

Percent

Weighted 

Percent 

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Weighted 

Percent 

Residence: Home or Garage 2,483 50.4 49.2 1,977 49.6 48.0 1,695 49.2 47.6

Rented or Leased Space 1,933 39.3 40.5 1,568 39.3 41.1 1,355 39.3 40.7

Purchased Space 241 4.9 5.2 227 5.7 5.8 218 6.3 6.6

Client Location 206 4.2 3.8 169 4.2 3.8 140 4.1 3.9

Other 59 1.2 1.3 46 1.2 1.2 37 1.1 1.2

Total 4,922 100.0 100.00 3,987 100.0 100.0 3,445 100.0 100.0

Notes: For detailed information on “weighted percent,” see Robb, Alicia and David DesRoches, “Kauffman Firm 

Survey: Baseline/First/Second Follow-Up,” May 6, 2008, 

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1024312&rec=1&srcabs=1284474. 

Table 7 shows a similar pattern for home-based business in the KFS data. Notice that KFS oversampled home-based firms and undersampled firms that either rented or purchased their primary 

business locations. About half of KFS sample firms started from home in 2004 and operated at 

home in 2005 and 2006. Around 40 percent of KFS sample firms rented or leased places, and 5 

percent to 7 percent of them operated at their own purchased spaces. 

Table 8 compares 2004 and 2006 home-based and non-home-based businesses in the KFS 

sample. Four industries accounted for the largest share of home-based KFS startups in 2004: 

professional, scientific, and technical services (31 percent); manufacturing (13 percent); 

construction (10 percent); and administrative, support, waste management and remediation 

services (10 percent). The industry distribution of non-home-based startups was different: 

manufacturing (23 percent) and professional, scientific, and technical services (17 percent) took 

large shares; retail was 14 percent. After two years, the home-based businesses remained in 

much the same industries as in 2004; non-home-based businesses had large shares in 

professional services (19 percent), manufacturing (19 percent), a stable 14 percent share in retail, 

and 10 percent went to other services. 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 16
Table 8: Industry Concentration of Home-Based and Non-Home-Based 

Firms in the KFS Sample, Unweighted Data, 2004 and 2006 

2004 2006 Item Home-Based Non-Home Based Home-Based Non-Home Based

Professional 

Services (31%) 

Manufacturing 

(23%) 

Professional 

Services (33%) 

Professional 

Services (19%) 

Manufacturing 

(13%) 

Professional 

Services (17%) 

Construction 

(11%) 

Manufacturing 

(19%) 

Construction 

(10%) Retail Trade (14%) Manufacturing (9%) Retail Trade (14%) 

Top Four Industries 

Administrative 

Services (10%) 

Administrative 

Services (6%) 

Administrative 

Services (9%) 

Other Services 

(10%) 

Percent of Total: 

Employers 

Nonemployers 

29% 

71% 

54% 

46% 

49% 

51% 

76% 

24% 

Revenues: 

Less than $5,000 

More than $1 million 

63.6% 

0.3% 

45.1% 

3.9% 

45.3% 

1.3% 

25.1% 

13.9% 

NAICS codes: 23-Construction; 31-33-Manufacturing; 44-45-Retail Trade; 54-Professional Services; 56-

Administrative Services; and 81-Other Services. 

During the startup year of 2004, home-based nonemployers accounted for 71 percent of the total, 

while non-home-based nonemployers made up 46 percent. After two years, home-based 

employers increased 20 percent, and non-home-based employers increased to 76 percent of the 

total. Almost 64 percent of home-based and 45 percent of non-home-based startups had revenue 

less than $5,000 in 2004. Almost 14 percent of non-home-based businesses made more than $1 

million in revenue, while only 1.33 percent of home-based businesses were at this level. 

Is there any correlation between firm stability and primary business location? Table 9 attempts to 

capture the dynamics of business location activities. There were 3,183 firms in the sample that 

remained in the same location since the inception of their business: 1,641 at their residence, 

1,219 in leased space, 158 in purchased space, 132 at client sites, and 33 in other locations. In 

2006, 110 firms that had been operating at home in 2004 had moved to leased space. Fourteen 

home-based businesses and 44 firms in leased space in 2004 had purchased their own spaces in 

2006. Comparing these two years, there were fewer home-based firms and more firms in rented 

or purchased space in 2006 than in 2004. 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 17
Table 9: Cross-tabulation of 2004 and 2006 Primary Location of Business 

of Startups in the KFS Sample 

2006 Primary Location 

Count Home or 

Garage 

Rented 

or 

Leased 

Space 

Firm 

Purchased 

Space 

Client 

Site Other 2004 Total Count (Percent)1 

Home or Garage 1641 110 14 6 2 1773 (93%)

Rented or Leased Space 45 1219 44 1 1 1310 (93%)

Firm Purchased Space 2 10 158 1 0 171 (92%)

Client Site 5 11 0 132 1 149 (89%)

Other 2 4 1 0 33 40 (83%)

2004 

Primary 

Location 

2006 Total Count 1695 1354 217 140 37 3443

Notes: Included observations in this analysis were 3,443 (out of 4,928 total observations) after 

adjustments. The p-value of Pearson 2

 for this test is 0.0000. 

1. Percent of 2006 firms remaining in the same location as they were in 2004. 

Why did firms move? In the first follow-up survey, 184 firms answered this question (Table 10). 

Over 50 percent needed more space because of business growth; 9 percent stated that the 

previous location was too expensive. In the second KFS follow-up survey, 38.9 percent changed 

location due to growth, and 18.1 percent moved because the previous location was too expensive 

(Table 10). 

Does legal form have an impact on business location? Table 11 demonstrates a clear pattern in 

the unweighted sample data in 2006: nearly 66 percent of sole proprietors and 50 percent LLCs 

operated at home; while about 71 percent of C corporations, 59 percent of S corporations, 56.3 

percent of general partnerships and 51 percent of limited partnerships rented or purchased 

business space. More than one-third of sole proprietors were not home based in 2006. 

Table 10: Reasons for Changing Business Location, 2005 and 2006 

2005 2006 

Reason for Changing Primary Business Location: Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Weighted 

Percent 

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Weighted 

Percent 

Previous Location too Expensive 17 9.24 9.9 22 17.46 18.1

Needed more Space due to Growth 102 55.43 50.6 52 41.27 38.9

Moved Closer to Customers 10 5.43 5.9 14 11.11 12.2

Moved Business and Residence to New Location 8 4.35 4.7 7 5.56 4.9

Other 47 25.54 28.9 31 24.60 25.9

Total 184 100.00 100.0 126 100.00 100.0

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 18
Table 11: Legal Form and Primary Business Location, 2006 

(Percentage in Parentheses) 

Legal Form of Business HomeBased 

Rented or 

Leased Purchased Client Site Other Total 

Sole Proprietorship 691 (65.9) 232 (22.1) 56 (5.3) 57 (5.4) 13 (1.2) 1049 (100.0)

Limited Liability Company 570 (49.4) 448 (38.9) 81 (7.0) 40 (3.5) 14 (1.2) 1153 (100.0)

S Corporation 301 (37.3) 421 (52.2) 52 (6.5) 27 (3.3) 5 (0.6) 806 (100.0)

C Corporation 77 (26.8) 187 (65.2) 16 (5.6) 7 (2.4) 0 (0.0) 287 (100.0)

General Partnership 35 (36.5) 43 (44.8) 11 (11.5) 4 (4.2) 3 (3.1) 96 (100.0)

Limited Partnership 18 (36.7) 23 (46.9) 2 (4.1) 4 (8.2) 2 (4.1) 49 (100.0)

Some Other Form 3 (60.0) 1 (20.0) 0 (0.0) 1 (20.0) 0 (0.0) 5 (100.0)

Total 1695 (49.2) 1355 (39.3) 218 (6.3) 140 (4.1) 37 (1.1) 3445 (100.0)

Does the financial strength of the firm have an impact on primary business location? Table 12 

suggests that startups with a stronger financial position purchased their business space. Over 60 

percent of firms that purchased their primary locations had over $100,000 in total assets in 2004. 

At the same time, only less than 30 percent of other groups were in this asset category. About 10 

percent of non-home-based firms with rental locations and 10 percent with purchased locations 

had no assets during the startup years. By 2006, these two shares had dropped to 4.9 percent and 

2.9 percent, respectively. 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 19
Table 12: Cross-tabulation of Assets and Primary Business Location, 

2004 and 2006 

(Percent) 

Category of Assets HomeBased 

Rented or 

Leased Purchased Client Site Other Total 

2004 

No assets 14.0 9.7 10.0 13.1 20.3 12.2

$10,000 or less 40.2 16.6 6.3 31.1 28.8 28.8

$10,001 to $100,000 35.4 44.1 23.3 41.3 25.4 38.3

$100,001 or more 10.4 29.6 60.4 14.6 25.4 20.7

Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

2006 

No assets 9.0 4.9 2.9 8.0 11.4 7.0

$10,000 or less 31.6 10.1 3.8 27.5 22.9 21.2

$10,001 to $100,000 42.3 37.8 16.2 41.3 34.3 38.8

$100,001 or more 17.2 47.2 77.1 23.2 31.4 33.0

Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Table 13: Cross-tabulation of Revenue and Primary Business Location, 

2006 

(Percentage in Parentheses) 

Category of Revenue Home-Based Rented or 

Leased Purchased Client Site Other Total 

No Revenue 449 (27.0) 267 (20.2) 45 (21.6) 30 (21.7) 12 (36.4) 803 (23.9)

Some Revenue ($10,000 or less) 303 (18.3) 45 (3.4) 5 (2.5) 18 (13.2) 4 (12.1) 375 (11.2)

$10,001 to $100,000 553 (33.3) 230 (17.4) 34 (16.3) 51 (36.9) 9 (27.3) 877 (26.1)

$100,001 or more 355 (21.4) 779 (59.0) 124 (59.6) 39 (28.2) 8 (24.2) 1305 (38.8)

Total 1660 (100.0) 1321 (100.0) 208 (100.0) 138 (100.0) 33 (100.0) 3360 (100.0)

In 2006, about 21.4 percent of home-based businesses and about 60 percent of firms that 

operated in purchased or rented space generated more than $100,000 in revenue (Table 13). 

Among all 3,360 firms, 1305 (or 39 percent) had revenue over $100,000: most of these firms 

(779) were in rental space; 355 were home based. More than 20 percent of all firms with a 

different primary location had no revenue in 2006. 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 20
Two-Digit North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)

This section analyzes the industry distribution of KFS sample firms. The KFS over-sampled the 

manufacturing sector and high technology sector, which is apparent in Table 14. The 2004 KFS 

sample percentage of manufacturing was 17.9, but the weighted percentage was 6.4; the 

percentage of professional, scientific and technical services and management was 24.5 percent, 

but the weighted percentage was estimated as 16.8 percent.11 While the KFS over-sampled 

sectors of manufacturing (NAICS 31-33); professional, scientific and technical services (NAICS 

54), it under-sampled construction (NAICS 23), retail trade (NAICS 44-45), and others. Table 14 

indicates that the most prevalent industry in the KFS was professional, scientific, and technical 

services (1,199 firms or more than 24 percent of the sample) in 2004. By the end of 2005, there 

were 1,190 firms in this sector: 1,105 survived and 85 were out of business.12

What kind of industries in the unweighted sample had higher survival rates? Table 15 shows that 

the overall survival rate of 2005 KFS sample firms was 93.9 percent (unweighted data), from a 

high of 97.1 percent in real estate, rental and leasing (NAICS 53) to a low of 89.0 percent in 

accommodation and food services (NAICS 72). The overall 2006 survival rate was one 

percentage point lower than in 2005. The highest was 94.4 percent in forestry, fishing and 

hunting, and agricultural support services (NAICS 11); and the lowest was 87.1 percent in 

education services (NAICS 61). 

 

11 The figure 24.5 was the sum of percentages of NAICS 54 (24.3 percent) and NAICS 55 (0.2 percent). 

12 Note that the data in Table 14 cannot be used for firm survival study as they tracked industrial aggregated 

information that allowed firms entry and exit. For example, 88 firms started their businesses in the accommodation 

and food services sector (NAICS code 72) in 2004; by the end of 2005, there were 91 firms in this sector, including 

88 that stayed in the same business with the same NAICS code, and three firms entered the sector. The three new 

entrants had originally started their business in the retail sector (NAICS 44); real estate and rental and leasing sector 

(NAICS 53); and professional, scientific, and technical services sector (NAICS 54), respectively. See Appendix 

Table A2 for specific industrial flows of business entry-exit from one to another. 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 21
Table 14: Business Entry-Exit Count by Industrial Classification, 2004-2006 

2004 20051 20061

Industry 

Sample Count 

Sample Percent 

Weighted Percent 

In Industry Firm 

Count 

Out of Industry Count 

Total 2005 Sample 

Count 

Industrial Survival 

Rate of 20052 

In Industry Firm 

Count 

Out of Industry Count 

Total 2006 Sample 

Count 

Industrial Survival 

Rate of 20063 

11--Forestry, fishing and hunting, and 

agricultural support services 45 0.9 1.2 44 3 47 93.6 34 2 36 94.4 

21--Mining 5 0.1 -- 5 0 5 -- 5 0 5 -- 

22--Utility 3 0.1 -- 3 1 4 -- 7 0 7 -- 

23--Construction 353 7.2 11.0 356 13 369 96.5 352 26 378 93.1 

31-33--Manufacturing 881 17.9 6.4 814 43 857 95.0 603 38 641 94.1 

42--Wholesale 198 4.0 5.9 186 13 199 93.5 204 14 218 93.6 

44-45--Retail 484 9.8 14.2 465 38 503 92.4 431 52 483 89.2 

48-49--Transportation 97 2.0 2.7 91 9 100 91.0 94 11 105 89.5 

51--Information 163 3.3 3.1 148 13 161 91.9 131 10 141 92.9 

52--Finance & Insurance 152 3.1 4.5 147 7 154 95.5 152 14 166 91.6 

53--Real estate & rental & leasing 176 3.6 5.2 170 5 175 97.1 158 12 170 92.9 

54--Professional Service 1199 24.3 1105 85 1190 92.9 1035 63 1098 94.3 

55--Management 10 0.2 16.8 6 2 8 -- 7 0 7 -- 

56--Administrative Service 396 8.0 11.1 378 17 395 95.7 321 23 344 93.3 

61--Educational Service 20 0.4 -- 23 1 24 95.8 27 4 31 87.1 

62--Health care & social assistance 114 2.3 3.5 105 8 113 92.9 106 7 113 93.8 

71--Arts, entertainment, & recreation 110 2.2 2.6 101 9 110 91.8 85 6 91 93.4 

72--Accommodation & food services 88 1.8 2.5 81 10 91 89.0 74 9 83 89.2 

81--Other services 434 8.8 9.2 397 26 423 93.9 372 29 401 92.8 

92--Public Administration -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 3 0 3 -- 

Total 4928 100 -- 4625 303 4928 93.9 4201 320 4521 92.9 

1. The data in this table can be used for industry survival study for the current year. As firms could enter or exit from one 

industry to another, this table does not provide survival rate of individual firms. 

2. The number of 2004 business surviving at the end of 2005. 

3. The number of 2005 business surviving at the end of 2006. 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 22
Table 15: Business Survival of Selected Industries, 2004-2006 

Selected Industries 

Construction 

(23) 

Manufacturing 

(31-33) 

Professional 

Service (54) 

Management 

(56) 

Other 

Services 

(91) 

Industry 

Count 

Percent 

Count 

Percent 

Count 

Percent 

Count 

Percent 

Count 

Percent 

11--Forestry, fishing and hunting, 

and agricultural support services -- -- -- -- 2 0.2 2 0.5 1 0.3 

22--Utility 1 0.3 2 0.2 1 0.1 -- -- 1 0.3 

23--Construction 307 92.8 27 3.8 9 0.8 4 1.1 12 3.0 

31-33--Manufacturing 2 0.6 587 71.1 13 1.2 5 1.4 10 2.5 

42--Wholesale -- -- 44 5.2 10 0.9 6 1.6 2 0.5 

44-45--Retail 4 1.2 39 5.0 23 2.1 14 3.7 11 2.8 

48-49--Transportation 1 0.3 7 1.0 3 0.3 3 0.8 5 1.3 

51--Information 3 0.9 10 1.3 14 1.3 4 1.1 3 0.8 

52--Finance & insurance 1 0.3 -- -- 11 1.0 7 1.9 1 0.3 

53--Real estate & rental & leasing 5 1.5 2 0.3 3 0.3 5 1.3 2 0.5 

54--Professional service 3 0.9 41 6.0 962 87.6 23 6.1 11 2.8 

55--Management -- -- -- -- 1 0.1 3 0.8 -- -- 

56--Administrative service 1 0.3 18 2.0 11 1.0 285 76.0 11 2.8 

61--Educational service -- -- -- -- 8 0.7 1 0.3 -- -- 

62--Health care & social assistance -- -- 11 1.2 6 0.5 3 0.8 2 0.5 

71--Arts, entertainment, & 

recreation -- -- 1 0.2 5 0.5 1 0.3 2 0.5 

72--Accommodation & food 

services -- -- 2 0.3 2 0.2 -- -- 1 0.3 

81--Other services 2 0.6 21 2.5 14 1.3 8 2.1 322 81.1 

92--Public administration 1 0.3 -- -- -- -- 1 0.3 -- -- 

2006 Count 331 100.0 812 100.0 1098 100.0 375 100.0 397 100.0 

2004 Count 353 881 1199 396 434 

3-Year Industry survival rate (%)1 93.8 92.2 91.6 94.7 91.5 

3-Year Business survival rate (%)2 87.0 66.6 80.2 72.0 74.2 

Note: This table tracks business survival rate both at the firm level and industry level. 

1. Percentage of rate between 2006 count over 2004 count. 

2. Percentage of rate between the numbers of firm that survived in the same industry by 2006 over 2004 count. 

Table 15 uses unweighted sample data to track survival rates at both the firm-level and industrylevel between 2004 and 2006 for five industries (NAICS 23–construction; 31-33–manufacturing; 

54–professional services; 56–management; and 81–other services). For example, out of a total of 

331 firms in the construction industry (NAICS 23), 307 firms stayed in the same industry and 

survived by 2006. The three-year survival rate for the industry was 93.8 percent, but the survival 

rate for individual firms was 87.0 percent. It is interesting to see that the manufacturing (NAICS 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 23
31-33) sector had a relatively high survival rate at the industry level (92.2 percent: 812 out of 

881), but the lowest rate at the firm level (66.6 percent: 587 out of 881) by 2006 in this study. In 

detail, 587 startups survived in the same manufacturing industry; 69 startups either went out of 

business or changed industries in 2005; and the remaining 225 startups went to other industries 

(including 44 that went to wholesale trade (NAICS 42) and 41 that went to professional, 

scientific and technical services (NAICS 54).

Firm Size and the Utilization of Human Capital

Most KFS sample firms were small. Ninety-one percent of all employer firms had 10 or fewer 

workers, and they provided 61 percent of total employment in the unweighted sample in 2004, 

and 88 percent and 52 percent, respectively, in 2006 (Table 16). Startups with 25 or more 

employees were 2.8 percent of the total in 2004, and provided 16.9 percent of the jobs in the 

sample in 2004. Firms with 25 or more employees increased to 4.5 percent of the sample in 2006, 

and provided 22.5 percent of the jobs. 

Besides creating jobs, business startups also utilize entrepreneurial tenets as important human 

capital. In 2004, it took 1.4 entrepreneurs on average to start a business (based on unweighted 

data). After 2 years, an average of 1.5 owners operated a firm (again, based on unweighted data). 

Firms with 10 or fewer employees employed 95 percent of the total number of startup 

entrepreneurs in 2004 (Table 17). 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 24
Table 16: Size and Total Employment of KFS Sample Firms, 2004-2006 

Size of KFS Sample 

Firms 2004 2005 2006 

Count Percent Count Percent Count Percent 

1-2 1107 57.1 1170 50.5 1053 49.1 

3-10 659 34.0 892 38.5 823 38.4 

11-24 119 6.1 167 7.2 172 8.0 

25+ 55 2.8 90 3.9 97 4.5 

Total Firms 1940 100.0 2319 100.0 2145 100.0 

1-2 1524 18.8 1635 14.9 1464 13.6 

3-10 3433 42.3 4511 41.0 4164 38.7 

11-24 1785 22.0 2602 23.7 2708 25.2 

25+ 1375 16.9 2250 20.5 2425 22.5 

Total Employees 8117 100.0 10998 100.0 10761 100.0 

Jobs per Firm 4.2 4.7 5.0 

Table 17: Size and Total Operational Owners of KFS Sample Firms, 

2004-2006 

Size of KFS Sample Firms* 2004 2005 2006 

Count Percent Count Percent Count Percent 

0 2838 58.8 1633 42.0 1267 37.8 

1-2 1107 23.0 1107 28.5 1035 30.9 

3-10 704 14.6 892 22.9 798 23.8 

11-24 119 2.5 167 4.3 163 4.9 

25+ 55 1.1 90 2.3 90 2.7 

Total Firms 4823 100.0 3889 100.0 3353 100.0 

0 3834 56.9 2166 39.7 1748 35.7 

1-2 1409 20.9 1452 26.6 1343 27.5 

3-10 1154 17.1 1387 25.4 1273 26.0 

11-24 215 3.2 284 5.2 333 6.8 

25+ 122 1.8 166 3.0 195 4.0 

Total Owners 6734 100.0 5455 100.0 4892 100.0 

Entrepreneurs per Firm 1.4 1.4 1.5 

A sizeable number of sole proprietorships (47.1 percent), LLCs (40.8 percent), and general 

partnerships (58.5 percent) operated with no employees in 2006. The majority of the 2006 jobs 

(52.3 percent) were provided by firms with 10 or fewer workers. LLCs provided 33.5 percent of 

the jobs in the sample in 2006, and 50.3 percent of these were provided by LLCs with a 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 25
maximum of 10 workers. C corporations provided 16.4 percent of the 2006 job total; 32.5 

percent of these were provided by C corporations with 25 or more employees (Table 18). 

Table 18: Employee Size of KFS Sample Firms by Legal Form of 

Business, 2006 

(Percent) 

Employee Size of Legal Form of Business*

KFS Sample Firms SP LLC S Corp C Corp GP LP Other Total 

Percentage of Total Firm by Employee Size and Legal Form of Business 

0 47.1 40.8 24.2 21.0 58.5 22.9 60.0 37.4

1-2 38.0 28.0 30.2 22.8 18.1 22.9 40.0 30.7

3-10 13.5 23.0 33.7 37.6 19.1 39.6 -- 24.0

11-24 1.3 5.1 7.7 10.7 3.2 8.3 -- 5.0

25+ 0.1 3.0 4.2 7.9 1.1 6.3 -- 2.8

Total Firms 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Percentage of Total Employees by Employee Size and Legal Form of Business 

1-2 37.5 12.5 9.8 5.9 14.1 8.1 100.0 13.6

3-10 44.2 37.8 40.1 32.9 45.3 37.1 -- 38.7

11-24 16.5 25.3 26.5 28.6 27.6 24.6 -- 25.2

25+ 1.9 24.3 23.6 32.5 13.0 30.2 -- 22.5

Total Employees 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Percent of Legal 

Form 12.5 33.5 33.4 16.4 1.8 2.3 0.0 100.0

* SP–sole proprietorship, LLC–limited liability company, S Corp– S corporation, C Corp–C 

corporation, GP–general partnership, LP–limited partnership, and Other–some other legal form. 

Do home-based businesses provide jobs? If so, how many? Table 19 shows that home-based 

firms in the unweighted KFS sample provided 18.0 percent of the jobs in the sample in 2004 and 

19.5 percent in 2006. In 2004, there were no home-based firms in the sample with 25 or more 

employees. But in 2006, seven such firms had emerged and provided 8.5 percent of total homebased business jobs in that year. 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 26
Table 19: Employee Size of KFS Sample Firms by Primary Business 

Location, 2004 and 2006 

Home-Based1 Non-Home-Based2 

Employee Size of KFS 

Sample Firms Firm 

Count Percent Employee Count Percent Firm Count Percent Employee Count Percent 

2004 

0 1729 71.0 -- -- 1108 46.5 -- --

1-2 552 22.7 717 49.0 554 23.2 806 12.1

3-10 144 5.9 615 42.1 558 23.4 2809 42.3

11-24 9 0.4 130 8.9 110 4.6 1655 24.9

25+ -- -- -- -- 55 2.3 1375 20.7

Total 2434 100.0 1462 100.0 2385 100.0 6645 100.0

Percent3 50.5 18.0 49.5 82.0 

2006 

0 852 51.0 -- -- 425 24.5 -- --

1-2 595 35.6 773 37.3 454 26.1 685 8.0

3-10 203 12.1 900 43.5 615 35.4 3236 37.8

11-24 14 0.8 222 10.7 156 9.0 2454 28.7

25+ 7 0.4 175 8.5 87 5.0 2175 25.4

Total 1671 100.0 2070 100.0 1737 100.0 8550 100.0

Percent3 51.0 19.5 49.0 80.5 

1. Primary business location was home or garage. 

2. Primary business location can be rental or purchased place or any other place out of home. 

3. The percentage of home-based vs. non-home-based firms or employees totaled 100 percent. 

Employer vs. Non-Employer Businesses

The KFS baseline question C5 asked what the firm’s number of employees was, not counting 

owner(s), on December 31, 2004. This question also was asked in the follow-up surveys. About 

59 percent of total KFS sample firms (2,838) reported zero employees, while another 41 percent 

(1,985) reported the number of employees from 1 through 25 (including all full- and part-time 

employees, but excluding contract workers who were not on the business’ official payroll). 

Table 20 illustrates the differences between employer and nonemployer firms. Out of total KFS 

employer firms in 2004, 1,980 had assets at an average level of 6.046 (slightly more than the 

level of 6, i.e., “$10,001 to $25,000”), but nonemployers had assets at an average level of 4.685 

(less than the level of 5, i.e. “$5,001 to $10,000”). Overall, KFS employer firms had a stronger 

financial profile than nonemployer firms. Moreover, employer firms’ share of the total increased 

from 41 percent in 2004 to 62 percent in 2006. 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 27
Table 20: Statistical Profile of Employer vs. Nonemployer Firms, 2004-2006

 Employer Firms1 Nonemployer Firms2

 Assets Revenues Profit Number of 

Owners Assets Revenues Profit Number of Owners 

2004 Total Employers: 1985 (41%) Total Nonemployers: 2838 (59%) 

Average 6.046 4.713 4.723 1.461 4.685 3.385 3.765 1.351 

Observations 1980 1907 779 1985 2834 2737 1262 2838 

2005 Total Employers: 2319 (59%) Total Nonemployers: 1633 (41%) 

Average 6.361 5.564 5.415 1.418 5.336 4.475 4.497 1.326 

Observations 2310 2269 1336 2319 1630 1604 992 1633 

2006 Total Employers: 2145 (62%) Total Nonemployers: 1280 (38%) 

Average 6.521 5.713 5.643 1.507 5.298 4.725 4.669 1.380 

Observations 2084 2078 1352 2086 1265 1249 816 1267 

Note: The methodology for the statistics used in this table can be found in Appendix 2. 

1. Firms with at least one employee. 

2. Firms with no employees. 

Legal Form of Business

Legal form has important implications for such variables as taxation, ownership, assets, revenue, 

profit, and employment. As of December 31, 2004, about one-third of startups in the KFS sample 

were registered as sole proprietorships, followed by another popular legal form—limited liability 

companies (or LLCs; see Table 21). This is very different from Economic Census data. For 

example, in 1997 almost 73 percent of all U.S. firms, 82 percent of minority-owned firms, and 

85 percent women-owned firms operated as sole proprietorships. Since then, LLCs have become 

more and more common.13 Notice that KFS under-sampled sole proprietorships and partnerships, 

but over-sampled LLCs, S corporations, and C corporations. 

 

13 Almost all of the 50 states had enacted an LLC statute by 1996 when the National Conference of Commissioners 

on Uniform State Laws adopted the Uniform Limited Liability Company Act. The act was revised in 2006. 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 28
Table 21: Confirmed Legal Form of Business in the KFS, 2004-2006 

2004 2005 2006 

Legal Form of Business Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Weighted 

Percent 

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Sole Proprietorship 1,635 33.2 35.8 1,272 31.8 1,052 30.3 

Limited Liability Company 1,557 31.6 30.5 1,305 32.6 1,158 33.4 

 S Corporation 1,040 21.1 20.1 898 22.5 817 23.6 

C Corporation 441 8.9 7.9 333 8.3 291 8.4 

General Partnership 170 3.4 3.9 123 3.1 96 2.8 

Limited Partnership 74 1.5 1.6 61 1.5 50 1.4 

Some Other Form 11 0.2 0.2 6 0.2 5 0.1 

4,928 100.0 100.0 3,998 100.0 3,469 100.0 

Notes: See Appendix 3 for the explanation of these seven legal forms. 

In 2004, all 4,928 firms confirmed their legal form of business during the Kauffman Firm Survey. 

This confirmed count dropped to 3,998 in 2005 and to 3,469 in 2006 (Table 21). Among these 

original 4,928 startup firms, 1,635 were operated as sole proprietorship in 2004. By 2006, 45 had 

changed into LLCs, 37 into S corporations, 16 into C corporations, 5 into general partnerships, 

and 3 into limited partnerships (Table 22). Of the 11 startups with some other legal form, 5 

remained in the same status, 2 changed into sole proprietorships, and 4 were unknown. 

Table 22: Cross-tabulation of 2004 and 2006 Legal Forms of Business 

 

2006 Legal Form* 

Legal Form of Business 

 SP LLC S Corp C Corp GP LP Other Total 

Sole Proprietorship 1026 45 37 16 7 3 0 1134

Limited Liability Company 10 1098 24 8 1 2 0 1143

S Corporation 4 8 718 11 0 1 0 742

C Corporation 2 2 28 255 1 0 0 288

General Partnership 7 4 6 0 87 0 0 104

Limited Partnership 1 1 4 1 0 44 0 51

Some Other Form 2 0 0 0 0 0 5 7

2004 

Legal 

Form 

Total 1052 1158 817 291 96 50 5 3469

* SP–sole proprietorship, LLC–limited liability company, S Corp– S corporation, C Corp–C corporation, 

GP–general partnership, LP–limited partnership, and Other–some other legal form. 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 29
Table 23: Comparison of 2004 and 2006 Legal Form of Business 

2004 2006 Sample Count 

Legal Form of Business Sample 

Count 

(1) 

In 2006 

Legal 

Form 

 (2) 

In 2004 

Legal 

Form 

(3) 

Changed 

Legal 

Form 

(4) 

Never 

Changed 

Legal Form 

(5) 

Legal Form 

Consistent 

Rate 

(6) 

Sole Proprietorship 1635 1052 1134 108 1026 63% 

Limited Liability Company 1557 1158 1143 45 1098 71% 

S Corporation 1040 817 742 24 718 69% 

C Corporation 441 291 288 33 255 58% 

General Partnership 170 96 104 17 87 51% 

Limited Partnership 74 50 51 7 44 59% 

Some Other Form 11 5 7 2 5 45% 

Total 4928 3469 3469 236 3233 66% 

Notes: 

(1) 2004 number of firms that were recorded in 2004 legal form. 

(2) 2006 number of firms that were recorded in 2006 legal form. 

(3) 2006 number of firms that were recorded in 2004 legal form = (4) + (5). 

(4) 2006 number of firms that had changed legal form. 

(5) 2006 number of firms that never changed their legal form. 

(6) Percent of 2006 firms that never changed legal form their 2004 legal form, i.e., percentage number of 

[(6) = (5)  (1)]. 

There were a total 3,233 firms (the sum of the diagonal cells in Table 22) that never changed 

their legal form of business in the 3 years since they began operating in 2004. Most firms did not 

change their form of business; most consistent were LLCs at 71 percent and S corporations at 69 

percent (Table 23). 

Is there any financial incentive for firms to change their legal form of business? Table 24 

provides a comparison of the revenues in 2005 and 2006 of firms that changed their legal forms 

and those that did not. It appears that a much higher share of firms that changed their legal status 

were in the high revenue categories. For example, there was a difference of more than 10 

percentage points in the “$100,001 or more” revenue category: 43.4 percent of firms changed 

their legal form in 2005, while 32.3 percent did not; and 49.1 percent changed in 2006, while 

38.4 percent did not. 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 30
Table 24: Revenue of Firms With Changed and Unchanged Legal Form 

of Business 

2005 Revenue 2006 Revenue 

Firms That Did Not 

Change Legal Form

(1) 

Firms That Changed 

Legal Form 

(2)

Firms That Did Not 

Change Legal Form 

(3) 

Firms That Changed 

Legal Form 

(4) Value 

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

No Revenue 925 24.6 35 23.0 740 23.5 27 25.0

Some Revenue 

($10,000 or less) 542 14.4 11 7.2 366 11.6 4 3.7

$10,001 to $100,000 1083 28.8 40 26.3 833 26.5 24 22.2

$100,001 or more 1216 32.3 66 43.4 1210 38.4 53 49.1

Total 3766 100.0 152 100.0 3149 100.0 108 100.0

Notes: 

(1) 2005 legal form is the same as that of 2004. 

(2) 2005 legal form differs from that of 2004. 

(3) 2006 legal form is the same as that of 2005. 

(4) 2006 legal form differs from that of 2005. 

How did ownership structure influence the choice of legal form of business? In a cross-tabulation 

of the number firm owners and the firm’s legal form, Table 25 indicates that more firms in 2006 

(1,124) chose the LLC form than the sole proprietorship form (1,043). In 2006, 56 percent of all 

LLCs had a single owner, 33 percent had two owners, and 11 percent had three or more owners. 

Compared with 2004, the proportion of single owners had increased in all legal forms but C 

corporations in 2006. More than 75 percent of general partnerships were organized by two 

owners in 2004 and 2006. The percentage of firms with three or more owners dropped 5 

percentage points for S corporations and 19 percentage points for limited partnerships in 2006, 

compared with 2004. 

How is legal form associated with firm employment? Table 26 demonstrates that most jobs were 

provided by LLCs (33.0 percent of total new jobs), S corporations (32.5 percent), and C 

corporations (16.6 percent) in 2004. In 2006, LLCs made up 33.6 percent of the firms in the 

sample and provided 33.5 percent of total KFS jobs. Less than 9 percent of total KFS sample 

firms were C corporations; they provided more than 16 percent of total jobs in both 2004 and 

2006. 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 31
Table 25: Number of Business Owners and Firm’s Legal Form in 2004 

and 2006 

Number of Legal Form of Business* 

Owners in a 

Firm SP LLC S Corp C Corp GP LP Other Total 

Single Owner 1635 789 514 194 12 11 8 3163 

Two Owners 0 768 526 247 158 63 3 1765 

Three or More 0 230 123 108 26 22 0 509 

2004 Total 1635 1557 1040 441 170 74 11 4928 

Single Owner % 100 51 49 44 7 15 73 64 

Two Owners % 0 35 39 32 78 55 27 25 

2004 

Three or More % 0 15 12 24 15 30 0 10 

Single Owner 1043 632 437 121 12 19 4 2268 

Two Owners 0 373 294 107 71 23 1 869 

Three or More 0 119 63 54 12 5 0 253 

2006 total 1043 1124 794 282 95 47 5 3390 

Single Owner % 100 56 55 43 13 40 80 67 

Two Owners % 0 33 37 38 75 49 20 26 

2006 

Three or More % 0 11 8 19 13 11 0 7 

* SP–sole proprietorship, LLC–limited liability company, S Corp– S corporation, C Corp–C 

corporation, GP–general partnership, LP–limited partnership, and Other–some other legal form. 

Table 26: Number of Firms and Employees by Legal Form of Business, 

2004 and 2006 

(Percent) 

Legal Form of Business* 

SP LLC S Corp C-Corp GP LP Other Total 

2004 

Total Firms 33.1 31.7 21.1 8.9 3.5 1.5 0.2 100.0

Total Employees 12.6 33.0 32.5 16.6 2.6 2.4 0.3 100.0

2006 

Total Firms 30.0 33.6 23.6 8.5 2.7 1.4 0.1 100.0

Total Employees 12.5 33.5 33.4 16.4 1.8 2.3 0.0 100.0

* SP–sole proprietorship, LLC–limited liability company, S Corp– S corporation, C Corp–C 

corporation, GP–general partnership, LP–limited partnership, and Other–some other legal form. 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 32
Table 27: Assets and Legal Form of Business, 2004 and 2006 

(Percent) 

Legal Form of Business* Asset Category SP LLC S Corp C Corp GP LP Other Total 

2004 

No Assets 14.1 11.5 9.9 12.1 11.2 13.5 18.2 12.1

Some Assets ($10,000 or less) 40.4 24.0 20.7 22.6 31.2 17.6 27.3 28.8

$10,001 to $100,000 36.2 38.8 42.8 35.8 37.6 31.1 36.4 38.3

$100,001 or more 9.3 25.7 26.6 29.5 20.0 37.8 18.2 20.8

Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

2006 

No Assets 9.1 6.7 3.8 7.8 8.4 10.6 40.0 7.0

Some Assets ($10,000 or less) 34.7 17.8 12.1 10.6 23.2 14.9 40.0 21.2

$10,001 to $100,000 40.4 39.4 39.2 31.9 35.8 27.7 20.0 38.8

$100,001 or more 15.7 36.1 45.0 49.6 32.6 46.8 0.0 33.0

Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

* SP–sole proprietorship, LLC–limited liability company, S Corp– S corporation, C Corp–C corporation, 

GP–general partnership, LP–limited partnership, and Other–some other legal form. 

Table 28: Revenue and Legal Form of Business, 2004 and 2006 

(Percent) 

Legal Form of Business* Revenue Category SP LLC S Corp C Corp GP LP Other Total

2004 

No Revenue 35.8 34.9 35.0 44.4 29.3 38.9 36.4 35.9

Some Revenue ($10,000 or less) 28.4 15.6 10.2 8.6 28.0 13.9 27.3 18.5

$10,001 to $100,000 28.2 29.1 27.2 22.4 26.2 25.0 36.4 27.7

$100,001 or more 7.6 20.4 27.6 24.6 16.5 22.2 0.0 17.9

Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

2006 

No Revenue 30.9 20.1 18.0 27.6 30.9 29.8 0.0 23.9

Some Revenue ($10,000 or less) 20.6 9.8 3.8 3.2 12.8 4.3 50.0 11.2

$10,001 to $100,000 33.3 27.2 20.1 13.4 28.7 14.9 50.0 26.1

$100,001 or more 15.3 42.9 58.1 55.8 27.7 51.1 0.0 38.8

Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

* SP–sole proprietorship, LLC–limited liability company, S Corp– S corporation, C Corp–C corporation, 

GP–general partnership, LP–limited partnership, and Other–some other legal form. 

Does financial strength affect the choice of legal form of business? In 2004, about 12.1 percent 

of all startups did not have any assets (Table 27). Only 9.3 percent of sole proprietorships had 

assets exceeding $100,000, while 37.8 percent of limited partnerships had shown that degree of 

financial strength. Except for those in the “other forms” category, all businesses showed strong 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 33
financial improvement by 2006. Nearly half of C corporations (49.6 percent), limited 

partnerships (46.8 percent) and S corporations (45.0 percent) had assets over $100,000. At the 

same time, less than 16 percent of sole proprietorships had assets at this level, but over 40 

percent of them had assets between $10,001 and $100,000. 

How are legal form of business and revenue associated? In the startup year of 2004, 44.4 percent 

of C corporations did not generate any revenue; by the end of 2006, 27.6 percent of them had no 

revenue. There was an average 12 percent drop in the number of firms not generating revenue in 

2006 as compared to 2004, and a 20 percent increase in firms that had revenue of more than 

$100,000 (Table 28). Specifically, 58.1 percent of S corporations, 55.8 percent of C corporations, 

and 51.1 percent of limited partnerships generated more than $100,000 in revenue in 2006. 

IV. Dynamics of KFS Businesses 

Businesses grow in two ways: increased employment and increased revenues. Additional 

dimensions of firm dynamics are going out of business or experiencing a contraction in 

employment or revenues. 

Expanding Employers

Tables 29 through 32 examine growing employers. Table 29 indicates that 41.3 percent of all 

firms added workers in 2005; the growing employers share in total dropped to 31.1 percent in 

2006. Businesses with multiple owners had a higher rate of growing firms in total than those that 

only had single owner. For example, about 46 percent of businesses with multiple owners added 

more employees in 2005, while 39.4 percent of businesses with a single owner hired more 

workers. 

Table 30 gives a comparison of the legal form of business of growing and stable or contracting 

firms. C corporations, S corporations and limited partnerships had a higher rate of growing 

business than businesses with other legal forms. Sole proprietorships in general had a lower rate 

of growing firms. In 2005, 42.4 percent of limited partnerships increased their employment. This 

percentage rose to 50 percent in 2006. Table 31 suggests that about half of businesses that leased 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 34
or purchased their primary location hired more employees in 2005, and about 40 percent of these 

firms grew in 2006. In 2005, nearly one-third of home-based businesses hired more workers, and 

about one-quarter of these home-based firms increased employment in 2006. 

Table 29: Ownership Size of Expanding Employers, 2005 and 2006 

2005 2006 

Expanding 

Employers 

Stable or 

Contracting 

Firms* 

Expanding 

Employers 

Stable or 

Contracting 

Firms* Size of Ownership 

Group Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Share** 

(%) 

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Share** 

(%) 

Single Owner 1075 67.4 1652 72.9 39.4 619 62.0 1519 68.7 29.0 

Two Owners 399 25.0 473 20.9 45.8 275 27.6 555 25.1 33.1 

Three or More 120 7.5 140 6.2 46.2 104 10.4 136 6.2 43.3 

Total 1594 100.0 2265 100.0 41.3 998 100.0 2210 100.0 31.1 

*Including nonemployers. 

**Percent of expanding employers in total firms. 

Table 30: Legal Form of Expanding Employers, 2005 and 2006 

2005 2006 

Expanding 

Employers 

Stable or 

Contracting 

Firms* 

Expanding 

Employers 

Stable or 

Contracting 

Firms* Legal Form of 

Business

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Share** 

(%) 

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Share** 

(%) 

Sole Proprietorship 415 26.0 794 35.1 34.3 255 25.1 711 31.7 26.4 

Limited Liability 

Company 501 31.4 766 33.8 39.5 337 33.1 767 34.2 30.5 

S Corporation 422 26.5 456 20.1 48.1 287 28.2 491 21.9 36.9 

C Corporation 183 11.5 136 6.0 57.4 95 9.3 178 7.9 34.8 

General Partnership 44 2.8 77 3.4 36.4 20 2.0 71 3.2 22.0 

Limited Partnership 25 1.6 34 1.5 42.4 24 2.4 24 1.1 50.0 

Some Other Form 4 0.3 2 0.1 66.7 4 0.2 0.0 

Total 1594 100.0 2265 100.0 41.3 1018 100.0 2246 100.0 31.2 

*Including nonemployers. 

**Percent of expanding employers in total firms. 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 35
Table 31: Expanding Employers’ Primary Business Location, 2004 and 

2005 

2005 2006 

Expanding 

Employers 

Stable or 

Contracting 

Firms* 

Expanding 

Employers 

Stable or 

Contracting 

Firms* Primary Business 

Location 

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Share** 

(%) 

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Share** 

(%) 

Home or Garage 617 38.8 1284 56.8 32.5 397 39.0 1203 53.6 24.8 

Rented/Leased Space 798 50.2 728 32.2 52.3 489 48.0 801 35.7 37.9 

Purchased Space 105 6.6 114 5.1 47.9 88 8.6 121 5.4 42.1 

Client Site 50 3.1 110 4.9 31.3 30 2.9 97 4.3 23.6 

Other 20 1.3 23 1.0 46.5 14 1.4 22 1.0 38.9 

Total 1590 100.0 2259 100.0 41.3 1018 100.0 2244 100.0 31.2 

*Including nonemployers. 

**Percent of expanding employers in total firms. 

Table 32: Employee Size of Expanding Employers, 2005 and 2006 

2005 2006 

Expanding 

Employers 

Stable or 

Contracting 

Firms* 

Expanding 

Employers 

Stable or 

Contracting 

Firms* 

Number of 

Employees Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Share** 

(%) 

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Share** 

(%) 

Zero 1595 70.4 0.0 1224 54.5 0.0 

One 426 26.7 266 11.7 61.6 243 23.9 371 16.5 39.6 

2 to 10 985 61.8 340 15.0 74.3 635 62.4 541 24.1 54.0 

11 to 24 132 8.3 28 1.2 82.5 108 10.6 52 2.3 67.5 

25 or more 51 3.2 36 1.6 58.6 32 3.1 58 2.6 35.6 

Total 1594 100.0 2265 100.0 41.3 1018 100.0 2246 100.0 31.2 

*Including nonemployers. 

**Percent of expanding employers in total firms. 

Table 32 indicates that 1,595 businesses remained non-employers in 2005 and 1,224 in 2006; 

these numbers represent 70.4 percent of all stable or contracting firms in 2005 and 54.5 percent 

in 2006. More than 73 percent of all growing firms had more than one employee in 2005. This 

percentage increased to more than 76 percent in 2006. For all firms that had 25 or more 

employees, 58.6 percent of them had increased employment in 2005, but this percentage dropped 

to 35.6 percent in 2006. 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 36
Businesses with Growing Revenues

The KFS recorded 1,035 employer firms with revenue growth in 2005, and 497 in 2006; these 

numbers represent 44.6 percent and 23.2 percent of employer firms that had revenue growth in 

these two years, respectively. In 2005, 43.8 percent nonemployer firms had revenue growth and 

28 percent in 2006. There were 716 nonemployer firms with expanding revenues in 2005 and 

359 in 2006. About 30 percent of all nonemployer firms with expanding revenues had multiple 

owners while one-third of employer firms with expanding revenues had multiple owners in 2006 

(Table 33). About 60 percent of all employer firms with expanding revenues had more than 

$100,000 in revenue in both 2005 and 2006; about half of nonemployer firms with expanding 

revenues were in the $10,001 to $100,000 category (Table 34). 

Table 33: Businesses with Growing Revenues and Size of Ownership, 

2005 and 2006 

Employers Non-Employers

Ownership Size 2005 2006 2005 2006 

Count Percent Count Percent Count Percent Count Percent 

Total Firms 2319 -- 2145 -- 1633 -- 1280 --

One Owner 710 68.6 330 66.4 505 70.5 249 69.4

Two Owners 240 23.2 125 25.2 168 23.5 87 24.2

Three or More 

Owners 85 8.2 42 8.4 43 6.0 23 6.4

Total Firms with 

Expanding Revenue 1035 100.0 497 100.0 716 100.0 359 100.0

Percent of Growing 

Firms 44.6% -- 23.2% -- 43.8% -- 28.0% --

Table 34: Businesses with Growing Revenues by Size of Revenues, 2005 

and 2006 

Employers1 Non-Employers2 

Revenue Category 2005 2006 2005 2006 

Count Percent Count Percent Count Percent Count Percent

Some Revenue ($10,000 or less) 106 10.3 53 10.6 188 26.3 77 21.4

$10,001 to $100,000 316 30.5 134 26.6 367 51.3 178 49.6

$100,001 or more 613 59.2 316 62.8 161 22.4 104 29.0

Total 1035 100.0 503 100.0 716 100.0 359 100.0

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 37
Tables 35 and 36, respectively, show the profits and the assets of employer and nonemployer 

firms with expanding revenues. Notice that only about 60 percent of all employer and 

nonemployer firms reported a profit in 2005 and 2006. About 64 percent of employer firms and 

less than half of nonemployer firms had a profit of more than $10,000. Less than 19 percent of 

employer firms and more than 34 percent of nonemployer firms had total assets of $10,000 or 

less. 

Table 35: Businesses with Growing Revenues by Size of Profits, 2005 

and 2006 

Employers Non-Employers

Profit Category 2005 2006 2005 2006 

Count Percent Count Percent Count Percent Count Percent 

No Profit 32 5.1 13 3.9 36 7.8 13 4.9

Some Profit ($10,000 or less) 195 31.2 105 31.5 199 43.3 128 48.7

$10,001 to $100,000 296 47.4 150 45.0 201 43.7 111 42.2

$100,001 or more 102 16.3 65 19.5 24 5.2 11 4.2

Total 625 100.0 333 100.0 460 100.0 263 100.0

Table 36: Businesses with Growing Revenues by Asset Size, 2005 and 

2006 

Employers Non-Employers

Asset Category 2005 2006 2005 2006 

Count Percent Count Percent Count Percent Count Percent 

No Asset 28 2.7 17 3.4 19 2.7 19 5.3

Some Assets ($10,000 or less) 135 13.1 76 15.3 230 32.1 115 32.0

$10,001 to $100,000 465 45.0 183 36.9 356 49.7 174 48.5

$100,001 or more 405 39.2 220 44.4 111 15.5 51 14.2

Total 1033 100.0 496 100.0 716 100.0 359 100.0

Firms that Went Out of Business: A Comparison of Startups and Survivors 

The KFS included a question about how owners chose to exit their businesses. Among all KFS 

sample firms, 6 percent went out of business either temporarily or permanently in 2005, and an 

additional 7 percent did so in 2006. Of these, 13 percent were sold to or merged with other 

companies in 2005, and 16 percent were in 2006 (Table 37). 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 38
In 2005, 303 firms went out of business for various reasons. About 57 percent of these firms 

went permanently out of business; over 14 percent were either sold to or merged with other 

businesses. In 2006 another 320 firms closed, of which 39 were sold to other businesses and 8 

merged with other businesses. These 47 firms should be treated differently from other firms that 

went out of business. Unfortunately, the sample is too small to draw statistically significant 

conclusions. 

Table 37: Method of Exiting Business in the KFS, 2005 and 2006 

20051 20062 

Means of Business Exit Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent

Estimated 

Count 

Weighted 

Percent 

Sample 

Count

Sample 

Percent 

Estimated 

Count 

Weighted 

Percent 

Sold to Another Business 32 10.6 475 10.5 39 12.2 832 13.0

Merged with Another Business 11 3.6 133 2.9 8 2.5 168 2.6

Temporarily Stopped Operations 70 23.1 971 21.5 71 22.2 1,333 20.9

Permanently Out of Business 172 56.8 2,625 58.1 188 58.8 3,794 59.5

Other 18 5.9 316 7.0 14 4.3 254 4.0

Total 303 100.0 4,519 100.0 320 100.0 6,381 100.0

Note: For detailed information of estimated count and weighted percent, see Robb, Alicia and David DesRoches 

(2008), “Kauffman Firm Survey: Baseline/First/Second Follow-Up,” May 6. 

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1024312&rec=1&srcabs=1284474. 

1. Tabulation of all KFS sample firms in the first follow-up survey. 

2. Tabulation of all KFS sample firms in the second follow-up survey. 

Table 38 summarizes the characteristics of KFS sample firms by survival status: those that 

started in 2004, that went out of business in 2005 or 2006, or that survived in 2006. In terms of 

financial strength, 12.2 percent of startups had no assets in 2004 and 20.8 percent had more than 

$100,000. Among 2006 survivors, only 7 percent had no assets, and those with more than 

$100,000 increased to 33 percent. 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 39
Table 38: Comparison of KFS Sample Firms: Startups, Exits and 

Survivors, 2004-2006 

Startup in 2004 Closed in 2005 Closed in 2006 Survived in 2006 Categories* 

Count Percent Count Percent Count Percent Count Percent 

Assets 

No Assets 597 12.2 51 16.8 34 12.6 237 7.0

$10,000 or less 1414 28.8 124 40.9 83 30.6 718 21.2

$10,001 to $100,000 1884 38.3 95 31.4 103 38.0 1312 38.8

$100,001 or more 1020 20.8 33 10.9 51 18.8 1118 33.0

Total 4915 100.0 303 100.0 271 100.0 3385 100.0

Primary Business Location 

Home-Based 2483 50.4 183 60.4 157 58.2 1692 49.2

Non-Home-Based 2439 49.6 120 39.6 113 41.8 1750 50.8

Total 4922 100.0 303 100.0 270 100.0 3442 100.0

Legal Form 

Sole Proprietorship 1635 33.2 128 42.2 105 38.8 1049 30.3

Limited Liability Company 1557 31.6 82 27.1 80 29.5 1158 33.4

S Corporation 1040 21.1 54 17.8 47 17.3 817 23.6

C Corporation 441 9.0 25 8.3 24 8.9 290 8.4

General Partnership 170 3.5 10 3.3 12 4.4 96 2.8

Limited Partnership 74 1.5 4 1.3 3 1.1 50 1.4

Some Other Form 11 0.2 -- -- -- -- 5 0.1

Total 4928 100.0 303 100.0 271 100.0 3465 100.0

Number of Owners 

One 3445 69.9 229 75.6 209 77.1 2268 66.9

Two 1168 23.7 62 20.5 50 18.5 869 25.6

Three or More 315 6.4 12 4.0 12 4.4 253 7.5

Total 4928 100.0 303 100.0 271 100.0 3390 100.0

Number of Employees 

Zero 2838 58.8 197 65.9 137 51.5 1278 37.4

One 690 14.3 41 13.7 53 19.9 641 18.7

2-10 1121 23.3 59 19.7 67 25.2 1233 36.1

11-24 119 2.5 1 0.3 8 3.0 172 5.0

25 or More 55 1.1 1 0.3 1 0.4 97 2.8

Total 4823 100.0 299 100.0 266 100.0 3421 100.0

Revenue 

No Revenue 1704 35.9 118 40.7 75 28.1 804 23.9

$10,000 or less 878 18.5 68 23.5 51 19.1 375 11.2

$10,001 to $100,000 1311 27.7 76 26.2 86 32.2 878 26.1

$100,001 or more 848 17.9 28 9.7 55 20.6 1305 38.8

Total 4741 100.0 290 100.0 267 100.0 3362 100.0

Tabulation of KFS microdata http://www.kauffman.org/kfs/resources.cfm?user_id=4439&cat=data. * See Appendix 3 for explanation of category variables. 

While half of all startups were home based, two out of three of the firms that closed were home 

based. Almost 51 percent of 2006 survivors operated in leased or purchased space. One in three 

startups operated as sole proprietors in 2004; two in five of the firms that went out of business in 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 40
Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 41

2005 and 2006 were sole proprietors. Of the 2006 survivors, 33.4 percent were LLCs, 30.3 

percent were sole proprietors, and 23.6 percent were S corporations. About 70 percent of 2004 

KFS sample firms were started by individual owners; about three in four of the closed firms were 

operated by one owner. Among all 2006 survivors, almost one in three were run by multiple 

owners. 

There were 2,838 startups without any paid employees, or 58.8 percent of the 2004 sample. By 

2006, only 1,278 surviving firms had no employees (37.4 percent of sample). The majority of 

drop-out firms had no paid employees in 2005 (65.9 percent) and 2006 (51.5 percent). The 

number of 2006 survivors with two or more employees increased from 1,295 in 2004 to 1,502, a 

growth rate of 16 percent. 

Of the 1,704 firms with no revenue in 2004, more than half had disappeared by 2006 (804). 

During the startup year, only 848 firms (17.9 percent of the sample) had revenue of more than 

$100,000; the absolute number and percentage of firms in the sample with revenues greater than 

$100,000 surged to 1,305 and 38.8 in 2006. Not all firms that were out of business had low 

revenue. Among all firms that were out of business in 2005, almost one in 10 had over $100,000 

revenue; in 2006, one in five firms that were out of business had more than $100,000 revenue. 

Table 39 provides detailed industry information for employers and nonemployers in the KFS 

sample. There were 382 firms that increased employment both in 2005 and 2006. Among these 

growing firms, more than 24 percent were in manufacturing, and 20.9 percent were in 

professional services. The professional service sector seemed to be the most dynamic sector. It 

had 42.6 percent of the firms with contracting revenue, 29.3 percent of the firms with expanding 

revenue, 29.6 percent of firms with contracting employment, and 20.9 percent of firms with 

growing employment. In addition, over 26 percent of nonemployer firms (since 2004) and less 

than 23 percent of employer firms (since 2004) were in the professional services industry in 2006. 
Table 39: Business Characteristics of KFS Sample Firms by NAICS Codes, 2004-2006 

All KFS 

Sample Firms, 

2006

Firms with 

Shrinking 

Revenue, 

2005 and 

2006

Firms with 

Expanding 

Revenue, 

2005 and 

2006

Firms with 

Employees in 

2004, 2005, 

and 2006 

Firms with 

No Paid 

Employees in 

2004, 2005, 

and 2006

Firm

Shri

Emplo

200

20

NAICS 

Code 

Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count 

11–Forestry, fishing and hunting, and agricultural support services 36 0.8 -- -- 2 0.7 9 0.9 9 1.2 -- 21-Mining 5 0.1 -- -- -- -- 1 0.1 1 0.1 -- 22–Utility 7 0.2 -- -- -- -- 1 0.1 1 0.1 -- 23–Construction 378 8.4 1 2.1 19 6.6 75 7.5 64 8.3 2 31-33–Manufacturing 641 14.2 4 8.5 46 15.9 182 18.2 83 10.8 13 42–Wholesale 218 4.8 2 4.3 18 6.2 46 4.6 29 3.8 2 44-45–Retail 483 10.7 7 14.9 39 13.5 116 11.6 71 9.2 9 48-49–Transportation 105 2.3 0 0.0 4 1.4 28 2.8 9 1.2 1 51–Information 141 3.1 2 4.3 8 2.8 19 1.9 33 4.3 0 52–Finance & Insurance 166 3.7 2 4.3 6 2.1 36 3.6 35 4.5 1 53–Real estate & rental & leasing 170 3.8 1 2.1 6 2.1 22 2.2 51 6.6 0 54–Professional Service 1098 24.3 20 42.6 85 29.3 227 22.8 202 26.2 16 55–Management 7 0.2 -- -- -- -- 1 0.1 1 0.1 0 56–Administrative Service 344 7.6 3 6.4 18 6.2 72 7.2 46 6.0 6 61–Educational Service 31 0.7 0 0.0 1 0.3 6 0.6 5 0.6 0 62–Health care & social assistance 113 2.5 0 0.0 9 3.1 41 4.1 16 2.1 1 71–Arts, entertainment, & recreation 91 2.0 0 0.0 7 2.4 15 1.5 20 2.6 0 72–Accommodation & food services 83 1.8 0 0.0 4 1.4 35 3.5 5 0.6 0 81–Other services 401 8.9 5 10.6 17 5.9 65 6.5 88 11.4 3 92–Public Administration 3 0.1 0 0.0 1 0.3 1 0.1 2 0.3 0  Total 4521 100.0 47 100.0 290 100.0 998 100.0 771 100.0 54 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 
V. Conclusion 

The KFS is a valuable research tool in that it provides accurate information about new business 

sustainability and development. This study shows that business startups are engines for job 

creation. An average of 5.5 jobs per KFS startup business were created in 2004, including not 

only 4.1 paid employees, but also 1.4 operational business owners, or “entrepreneurial jobs.”14

Given that at least a half million firms start in business every year in the United States, this is a 

massive injection of productive human capital into the economy. These operational business 

owners proactively create or reinvent new ventures that utilize their own and their employees' 

talents, infusing capital and new ideas to create opportunities for them all, and provide products 

or services to the economy.15 In addition to job-creation, these entrepreneurs serve as engines for 

innovation and economic growth. 

The KFS data also measure the impact of these business startups in terms of the generation of 

wealth. In their startup year, the sample firms generated an estimated value of more than $575 

million in revenue. By 2006, the total estimated revenue of KFS sample firms increased to $879 

million, up 53 percent since 2004. The average revenue per KFS sample firms grew 115 percent 

from $121,358 in 2004 to $261,499 in 2006. The average payroll per KFS employee grew 56 

percent, from $26,267 in 2004 to $40,985 in 2006. 

The majority of startups were new and independent businesses. However, franchises and 

acquired businesses tended to be in a stronger financial position than independent startups; they 

also had lower closure rates, more employees, and more business owners. Home-based startups 

and young businesses create jobs and generate revenues, however, they tend to have a weaker 

financial base, hire fewer workers, and grow more slowly, as compared to non-home-based 

startups and businesses. The majority (95 percent) of KFS entrepreneurs started their businesses 

 

14 This term was coined by John Tozzi, Business Week reporter in his online report: “The Entrepreneurship Job,” 

http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/running_small_business/archives/2009/04/the_entrepreneu.html. 15 See Joseph Schumpeter (1947), “The Creative Response in Economic History,” in Essays on Entrepreneurs, 

Innovations, Business Cycles, and the Evolution of Capitalism, Transaction Publishers, New Brunswick and London, 

3rd printing, 1997, p. 223-224: “the defining characteristic is simply the doing of new things or the doing of things 

that are already being done in a new way (innovation).” In addition, “the entrepreneur ‘gets things done.’”

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 43
Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 44

 

small (with 10 or fewer employees). On average, KFS employer firms had a stronger financial 

profile than nonemployers. As these businesses grew, employer firms’ share of all sample firms 

increased more than 20 percent. The limited liability company became a popular legal form for 

KFS businesses. In general, firms that changed their legal status had higher business revenues 

than those did not. 

In terms of employment expansion, firms with multiple owners had higher rates of employment 

growth than those with single owners; C corporations, S corporations and limited partnerships 

had higher rates of growth than businesses with other legal forms. Sole proprietorships in general 

had lower rates of growth, and a higher percentage of non-home-based firms increased 

employees than home-based firms did. In terms of revenue expansion, employer firms were more 

likely to grow than nonemployer firms. The closure rate for KFS sample firms was 6 percent in 

2005 and 7 percent in 2006. Not all exiting firms failed; more than 13 percent were either sold or 

merged with other companies. Among all firms that went out of business, more than 60 percent 

were home based; 76 percent were operated by single owners. 

The KFS database contains very rich information about characteristics of firms and business 

owners.16 Much more can be explored with depth for a specific issue related to business startups 

and young firms. For example, the author noticed that the KFS startup firms’ employment 

seemed to be positively related to wage and many other fringe benefits that a firm may offer. 

Also, KFS business revenue seemed to be strongly related to a firm’s total assets. These two 

observations may lead to further microeconomic studies on the linkage between business growth 

and capital (represented by total assets) and labor (associated with benefits that a firm offers). In 

addition, KFS investigators have strong interests in startup financing and women business 

owners. Therefore, the data can provide very detailed information for those who may want to 

explore startup financing and various owners’ characteristics, including gender. In short, there 

are countless angles for future research that could be explored using the Kauffman Firm Survey, 

and hopefully, this research sparks further investigation into them.

16 Related research papers using the KFS database can be found on the Social Science Research Network website 

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/JELJOUR_Results.cfm?form_name=journalBrowse&journal_id=1008679. 
Appendix 1: Survey Data and Methodology 

The Kauffman Firm Survey (KFS) is a longitudinal study focusing on business startups in hightechnology that become high-growth young firms. Information about the methodology of the 

survey is available at http://sites.kauffman.org/kfs/created.cfm. For detailed information on KFS 

data, visit http://sites.kauffman.org/kfs/resources.cfm?user_id=4439&cat=data. 

Most tables provided in this report did not use weighted data for three reasons. First, the KFS 

investigators have been publishing information and analysis that used weighted data to partially 

correct the over-sampling and under-sampling problem; there is no need to replicate what has 

been made available to the public. Second, the report did not intend to extrapolate the KFS 

sample to nationwide business startups. Instead, the report focused on the KFS sample firms to 

provide unique insights into over-sampled high tech sectors and high-growth young firms. Third, 

the report relied on many cross-tabulations that created many special angles to examine startups’ 

characteristics and dynamics. These cross-sectional, cross-variable and cross-year examinations 

made data weighting difficult, if not impossible. 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 45
Appendix 2: Software and Statistics 

The Kauffman Firm Survey data was downloaded from 

http://sites.kauffman.org/kfs/resources.cfm?user_id=4439&cat=data in SAS format, and then 

transferred to EViews 6 software package for statistical analysis. The results of statistical 

analysis were formatted in MS-Excel for final presentations in the report. 

Because of the large sample, the majority of tabulations and cross-tabulations provided in the 

report are statistically significant. Nevertheless, readers should be cautious about tables with 

small numbers of observations. statistics that have been used in some tables in this report include 

mean, median, max, min, std. dev., skewness, kurtosis, Jarque-Bera, probability, and 

observations. 

Mean is the average value of the series, obtained by adding up the series and dividing by the 

number of observations. Median is the middle value (or average of the two middle values) of the 

series when the values are ordered from the smallest to the largest. The median is a robust 

measure of the center of the distribution that is less sensitive to outliers than the mean. Max and 

Min are the maximum and minimum values of the series in the current sample. Std. Dev. 

(standard deviation) is a measure of dispersion or spread in the series. 

Skewness is a measure of asymmetry of the distribution of the series around its mean. The 

skewness of a symmetric distribution, such as the normal distribution, is zero. Positive skewness 

means that the distribution has a long right tail and negative skewness implies that the 

distribution has a long left tail. 

The kurtosis of the normal distribution is 3. If the kurtosis exceeds 3, the distribution is peaked 

(leptokurtic) relative to the normal; if the kurtosis is less than 3, the distribution is flat relative to 

the normal. 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 46
Jarque-Bera is a test statistic for testing whether the series is normally distributed. The test 

statistic measures the difference of the skewness and kurtosis of the series with those from the 

normal distribution. Under the null hypothesis of a normal distribution, the Jarque-Bera statistic 

is 2 distributed as with 2 degrees of freedom. 

The reported probability is the probability that a Jarque-Bera statistic exceeds (in absolute value) 

the observed value under the null hypothesis; a small probability value leads to the rejection of 

the null hypothesis of a normal distribution. We reject the hypothesis of normal distribution at 

the 5 percent level of significance but not at the 1 percent level.

The reported observations is the number of non-missing observations for the examining variable 

in the current sample. 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 47
Appendix 3: Legal Form of Business and Other Variables 

The KFS survey refers to seven categories of legal form of business. 

1. Sole Proprietorship: a type of business ownership in which a business is owned and 

managed by one individual and no subchapter S-corporation has been established. 

2. Limited Liability Company (LLC): A cross between a corporation and a partnership and 

offering some of the benefits of both. Similar to S-corporations, income produced by a 

LLC flows through to owners (known as “members”) who pay their own taxes as 

individuals. Unlike S-corporations, however, LLCs are not subject to as many 

government restrictions. 

3. S-corporation: Corporations in which all profits and losses are passed through to 

shareholders, just as they are passed through to partners in a partnership. 

4. C Corporation: Legal entities separate from their owners that may engage in business, 

make contracts, own property, pay taxes, and sue and be sued by others. 

5. General Partnership: An association of two or more people who co-own a business for the 

purpose of making a profit and no subchapter S-corporation had been established. 

6. Limited Partnership: A partnership in which one or more partners are general partners 

who manage the business and others are limited partners who invest in the business but 

forego any right to manage the company. 

7. Some Other Form: Other legal forms that are different from the above 6 forms. 

The KFS refers to five primary business locations 

1. Home or Garage 

2. Rented/Leased Space 

3. Purchased Space 

4. Client Site 

5. Other 

Five ways of going out of business were identified. 

1. Sold to Another Business 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 48
2. Merged with Another Business 

3. Temporarily Stopped Operations 

4. Permanently Out of Business 

5. Other 

Ten dollar value categories are used in KFS for recording firms’ revenue, profit, asset and total 

wages to avoid revealing KFS firms’ sensitive financial information. 

1. $0 

2. $500 or less 

3. $501 to $1,000 

4. $1,001 to $3,000 

5. $3,001 to $5,000 

6. $5,001 to $10,000 

7. $10,001 to $25,000 

8. $25,001 to $100,000 

9. $100,001 to $1 million 

10. $1,000,001 or more 

KFS used two-digit North American Industrial Classification System codes—a publicly used 

database. For readers’ convenience, tabulations in this report are consistent with Survey of 

Business Owners’ NAICS codes listed below: 

11 Forestry, fishing and hunting, and agricultural support services 

21 Mining 

22 Utilities 

23 Construction 

31-33 Manufacturing 

42 Wholesale trade 

44-45 Retail trade 

48-49 Transportation & warehousing 

51 Information 

52 Finance & insurance 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 49
Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 50

53 Real estate & rental & leasing 

54 Professional, scientific, and technical services 

55 Management of companies and enterprises 

56 Administrative & support & waste management & remediation service 

61 Educational services 

62 Health care & social assistance 

71 Arts, entertainment, & recreation 

72 Accommodation & food services 

81 Other services (except public administration) 

92 Public Administration 
Appendix 4: Data Tables 

Table A1: Cross-tabulation of Firms by Number of Employees and Legal Form, 2004 

Number of Firm Number by Legal Form of Business Number of Employees by Legal Form o

Employees in a 

Firm SP LLC S- Corp C Corp GP LP Others Sample Firm Total SP LLC S- Corp C Corp GP LP Ot

0 1100 930 456 188 116 40 8 2838 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 292 163 166 47 9 11 2 690 292 163 166 47 9 11 2 107 132 108 41 21 8 0 417 214 264 216 82 42 16 3 38 73 66 37 10 1 0 225 114 219 198 111 30 3 4 18 55 40 26 5 0 0 144 72 220 160 104 20 0 5 21 51 36 17 1 1 0 127 105 255 180 85 5 5 6 5 25 26 12 0 2 0 70 30 150 156 72 0 12 7 5 20 20 7 0 1 0 53 35 140 140 49 0 7 8 1 4 18 12 2 3 0 40 8 32 144 96 16 24 9 0 4 10 0 0 0 0 14 0 36 90 0 0 0 

10 0 12 15 4 0 0 0 31 0 120 150 40 0 0 11 0 4 6 3 1 0 0 14 0 44 66 33 11 0 12 1 12 7 4 0 1 0 25 12 144 84 48 0 12 13 1 1 2 4 0 0 0 8 13 13 26 52 0 0 14 2 0 5 2 1 1 0 11 28 0 70 28 14 14 15 4 6 5 8 1 1 0 25 60 90 75 120 15 15 16 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 4 0 48 16 0 0 0 17 1 2 1 1 0 0 0 5 17 34 17 17 0 0 18 0 4 1 1 0 0 0 6 0 72 18 18 0 0 19 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 38 19 0 0 20 1 2 1 3 0 0 0 7 20 40 20 60 0 0 22 0 2 3 2 1 0 1 9 0 44 66 44 22 0 23 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 46 0 0 0 

25+ 0 22 20 9 1 3 0 55 0 550+ 500+ 225+ 25+ 75+ 

Total 1597 1527 1017 429 169 73 11 4823 1020 2678 2642 1350 209 194 

Percent 33.1% 31.7% 21.1% 8.9% 3.5% 1.5% 0.2% 100.0% 21.1% 55.5% 54.8% 28.0% 4.3% 4.0% 0

* SP–sole proprietorship, LLC–limited liability company, S Corp– S corporation, C Corp–C corporation, GP–general partnershi

partnership, and Other–some other legal form.

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 
Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 

Table A2: Cross-tabulation of Firms in 2004 NAICS Code by 2005 NAICS Code 

NAICS Code 2005 

11 21 22 23 31 32 33 42 44 45 48 49 51 52 53 54 55 56 61 62 

11 44 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 21 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 22 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 23 0 0 0 350 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 31 0 0 0 0 46 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 32 0 0 0 1 0 169 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 3 0 0 33 0 0 0 2 1 7 614 6 4 3 1 0 1 0 0 6 0 3 0 0 42 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 188 3 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 44 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 280 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 45 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 4 184 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 48 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 94 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 49 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 51 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 151 0 1 7 0 0 0 0 52 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 147 3 0 0 1 0 0 53 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 167 2 0 0 0 0 54 1 0 1 3 1 3 0 2 3 5 0 1 6 2 0 1159 0 5 2 0 55 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 8 0 0 0 56 1 0 0 2 0 2 2 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 7 0 376 0 0 61 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 20 0 62 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 111 71 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 172 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

2004 NAICS Code 

81 0 0 0 3 2 0 1 1 3 1 0 0 1 0 1 3 0 4 0 1 

2005 Total 47 5 4 369 50 184 623 199 301 202 97 3 161 154 175 1190 8 395 24 113 1
Table A3: Profile of New and Independent Startups, 2004 and 2006 

Assets Employees Operational 

Owners1 Profit Revenue Total Wages2 

Out of 

Business3 

2004 

Mean 5.129 1.394 1.383 4.086 3.819 4.495 0.062

Median 6 0 1 5 5 6 0

Maximum 9 25 10 9 9 9 1

Minimum 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

Std. Dev. 2.687 3.213 0.714 2.712 3.321 3.088 0.242

Skewness -0.732 4.358 2.882 -0.345 -0.042 -0.468 3.620

Kurtosis 2.310 26.577 18.589 1.681 1.287 1.584 14.102

Jarque-Bera 497 117680 52603 180 539 199 33447

Probability 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

Observations 4561 4470 4570 1949 4396 1653 4570

2006 

 Mean 5.978 2.908 1.448 5.234 5.272 5.412 0.066

 Median 7 1 1 6 7 7 0

 Maximum 9 25 10 9 9 9 1

 Minimum 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

 Std. Dev. 2.450 5.088 0.844 2.415 3.329 3.089 0.249

 Skewness -1.179 2.875 3.590 -0.834 -0.713 -0.918 3.486

 Kurtosis 3.460 11.514 25.209 2.646 1.831 2.222 13.154

 Jarque-Bera 757 14016 71618 248 444 315 28888

 Probability 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

 Observations 3151 3187 3155 2042 3130 1900 4570

Note: See Appendix 2 for explanation of statistics. 

1. Average number of business owners involved in operation but not equity contribution. 

2. Nonemployer firms were excluded. 

3. Rate of out of business in 2005 and 2006. 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 53
Table A4: Performance of Firms that were Not Newly and Independently 

Created 

Assets Employees Operational 

Owners1 Profit Revenue Total 

Wages2 

Out of 

Business3 

2004 

 Mean 6.686 5.346 1.534 4.856 5.325 6.049 0.050

 Median 7 2 1 6 7 7 0

 Maximum 9 25 7 9 9 9 1

 Minimum 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

 Std. Dev. 2.319 7.421 0.835 2.752 3.461 2.507 0.219

 Skewness -1.702 1.675 3.041 -0.729 -0.708 -1.435 4.116

 Kurtosis 5.241 4.673 17.862 2.195 1.749 4.021 17.942

 Jarque-Bera 245 206 3847 15 51 87 4341

 Probability 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

 Observations 354 353 358 132 345 226 358

2006 

Mean 6.966 6.273 1.566 5.862 6.124 6.813 0.047

 Median 8 3 1 6 8 7 0

 Maximum 9 25 7 9 9 9 1

 Minimum 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

 Std. Dev. 1.963 7.587 0.826 2.213 3.375 2.107 0.213

 Skewness -1.948 1.450 2.454 -1.218 -1.147 -2.218 4.255

 Kurtosis 6.893 3.931 12.713 3.905 2.524 7.460 19.109

 Jarque-Bera 296 92 1160 41 53 300 4951

 Probability 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

 Observations 234 238 235 145 233 182 358

Note: Firms examined here were not newly and independently created by single persons or teams of people 

rather, they were either purchased existing businesses, franchises or businesses started some other way. 

1. Average number of business owners involved in operation but not equity contribution. 

2. Nonemployer firms were excluded. 

3. Rate of out of business in 2005 and 2006. 

Table A5: Cross-tabulation of 2006 Assets and Legal Form of Business 

Legal Form of Business* Ten Asset Category SP LLC S-Corp C Corp GP LP Others Total 

$0 95 75 30 22 8 5 2 237

$500 or less 35 16 10 1 2 0 0 64

$501 to $1,000 36 13 4 3 3 1 1 61

$1,001 to $3,000 108 50 32 4 6 0 1 201

$3,001 to $5,000 66 34 24 8 5 3 0 140

$5,001 to $10,000 116 87 26 14 6 3 0 252

$10,001 to $25,000 186 145 95 18 13 6 1 464

$25,001 to $100,000 234 298 216 72 21 7 0 848

$100,001 to $1 million 151 324 309 98 28 14 0 924

$1,000,001 or more 12 81 48 42 3 8 0 194

Total 1039 1123 794 282 95 47 5 3385

* SP–sole proprietorship, LLC–limited liability company, S Corp– S corporation, C Corp–C 

corporation, GP–general partnership, LP–limited partnership, and Other–some other legal form.

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 54
Table A6: Cross-tabulation of 2006 Revenue and Legal Form of Business 

Legal Form of Business* Revenue Category SP LLC S-Corp C Corp GP LP Others Total

$0 315 225 143 78 29 14 0 804

$500 or less 27 9 3 0 2 1 0 42

$501 to $1,000 19 12 0 2 1 0 2 36

$1,001 to $3,000 58 24 7 3 0 1 0 93

$3,001 to $5,000 41 22 7 0 6 0 0 76

$5,001 to $10,000 65 43 13 4 3 0 0 128

$10,001 to $25,000 123 78 35 12 11 2 1 262

$25,001 to $100,000 217 226 125 26 16 5 1 616

$100,001 to $1 million 148 387 355 122 21 14 0 1047

$1,000,001 or more 8 93 107 36 5 10 0 259

Total 1021 1119 795 283 94 47 4 3363

* SP–sole proprietorship, LLC–limited liability company, S Corp– S corporation, C Corp–C 

corporation, GP–general partnership, LP–limited partnership, and Other–some other legal form. 

Table A7: Statistical Profile of Employer vs. Nonemployer Firms in the 

KFS, 2004-2006 

Employer Firms Nonemployer Firms 

Asset Revenue Profit 

Number 

of 

Owners 

Number of 

Employees Payroll Asset Revenue Profit 

Number 

of 

Owners 

2004 

 Mean 6.046 4.713 4.723 1.461 4.089 4.686 4.685 3.385 3.765 1.351 

 Median 7 6 6 1 2 6 5 3 4 1 

 Maximum 9 9 9 10 25 9 9 9 9 7 

 Minimum 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 

 Skewness -1.291 -0.436 -0.664 3.140 2.676 -0.565 -0.524 0.122 -0.215 2.424 

 Probability 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 

 Observations 1980 1907 779 1985 1985 1875 2834 2737 1262 2838 

2005

 Mean 6.361 5.564 5.415 1.418 4.743 5.309 5.336 4.475 4.497 1.326 

 Median 7 7 6 1 2 7 6 6 5 1 

 Maximum 9 9 9 10 25 9 9 9 9 7 

 Minimum 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 

 Skewness -1.509 -0.862 -0.969 2.718 2.287 -0.876 -0.866 -0.455 -0.550 2.355 

 Probability 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 

 Observations 2310 2269 1336 2319 2319 2259 1630 1604 992 1633 

2006

 Mean 6.521 5.713 5.643 1.507 5.017 5.576 5.298 4.725 4.669 1.380 

 Median 7 8 6 1 3 7 6 6 5 1 

 Maximum 9 9 9 10 25 9 9 9 9 9 

 Minimum 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 

 Skewness -1.606 -0.904 -1.089 3.475 2.146 -1.026 -0.845 -0.571 -0.594 3.369 

 Probability 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 

2084 2078 1352 2086 2145 2056 1265 1249 816 1267 

Notes: See Appendix 3 for explanation of statistics. 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 55
Table A8: Number of Business Owners, 2004 and 2005 

2005 2006 

Firms with 

Growing 

Revenue 

Firms with 

Stable or 

Contracting 

Revenue 

Firms with 

Growing 

Revenue 

Firms with 

Stable or 

Contracting 

Revenue 

Business Asset 

Category

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Share of 

firms with 

growing 

revenue in 

all firms 

(percent)

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Share of 

firms with 

growing 

revenue in 

all firms 

(percent) 

Single Owner 1197 67.8 1453 71.1 45.2 622 71.4 1660 71.0 27.3 

Two Owners 447 25.3 458 22.4 49.4 187 21.5 525 22.4 26.3 

Three or More 122 6.9 133 6.5 47.8 62 7.1 154 6.6 28.7 

Total Firms 1766 100.0 2044 100.0 46.4 871 100.0 2339 100.0 27.1 

Total Owners 2500 2837 46.8 1196 3228 27.0 

Table A9: Legal Form of Business, 2004 and 2005 

20051 20062

Firms with 

Growing 

Revenue 

Firms with 

Stable or 

Contracting 

Revenue 

Firms with 

Growing 

Revenue 

Firms with 

Stable or 

Contracting 

Revenue 

Legal Form of 

Business

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Share of 

firms with 

growing 

revenue in 

all firms 

(percent)

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Sample 

Count 

Share of 

firms with 

growing 

revenue in 

all firms 

(percent) 

Sole Proprietorship 514 29.1 731 35.8 41.3 295 33.9 708 30.3 29.4 

Limited Liability 

Company 608 34.4 627 30.7 49.2 270 31.0 792 33.9 25.4 

SCorporation 409 23.2 410 20.1 49.9 189 21.7 551 23.6 25.5 

C Corporation 138 7.8 172 8.4 44.5 76 8.7 185 7.9 29.1 

General Partnership 63 3.6 67 3.3 48.5 31 3.6 62 2.7 33.3 

Limited Partnership 32 1.8 31 1.5 50.8 9 1.0 38 1.6 19.1 

Some Other Form 2 0.1 6 0.3 25.0 1 0.1 3 0.1 25.0 

Total 1766 100.0 2044 100.0 46.4 871 100.0 2339 100.0 27.1 

Table A10: Primary Business Location, 2004 and 2005 

20051 20062

Firms with 

Growing 

Revenue 

Firms with 

Stable or 

Contracting 

Revenue 

Firms with 

Growing 

Revenue 

Firms with 

Stable or 

Contracting 

Revenue 

Primary Business 

Location 

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Share of 

firms with 

growing 

revenue in 

all firms 

(percent)

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Sample 

Count 

Share of 

firms with 

growing 

revenue in 

all firms 

(percent) 

Home or Garage 894 50.7 1061 52.0 45.7 442 51.0 1161 49.7 27.6 

Rented/Leased Space 689 39.0 767 37.6 47.3 325 37.5 920 39.4 26.1 

Purchased Space 92 5.2 97 4.8 48.7 46 5.3 135 5.8 25.4 

Client Site 69 3.9 94 4.6 42.3 41 4.7 94 4.0 30.4 

Other 21 1.2 23 1.1 47.7 13 1.5 24 1.0 35.1 

Total 1765 100.0 2042 100.0 46.4 867 100.0 2334 100.0 27.1 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 56
Table A11: Number of Business Employees, 2004 and 2005 

20051 20062

Firms with 

Growing 

Revenue 

Firms with 

Stable or 

Contracting 

Revenue 

Firms with 

Growing 

Revenue 

Firms with 

Stable or 

Contracting 

Revenue 

Number of 

Employees

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Share of 

firms with 

growing 

revenue in 

all firms 

(percent)

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Sample 

Count 

Share of 

firms with 

growing 

revenue in 

all firms 

(percent) 

0 1054 61.1 1151 57.6 47.8 379 44.2 918 39.7 29.2 

1 250 14.5 289 14.5 46.4 174 20.3 414 17.9 29.6 

2 to 10 375 21.8 486 24.3 43.6 262 30.6 823 35.5 24.1 

11 to 24 36 2.1 47 2.4 43.4 27 3.2 104 4.5 20.6 

25 or more 9 0.5 27 1.4 25.0 15 1.8 56 2.4 21.1 

Total 1724 100.0 2000 100.0 46.3 857 100.0 2315 100.0 27.0 

Table A12: Business Assets, 2004 and 2005 

20041 20052

Firms with 

Growing 

Revenue 

Firms with 

Stable or 

Contracting 

Revenue 

Firms with 

Growing 

Revenue 

Firms with 

Stable or 

Contracting 

Revenue 

Business 

Asset 

Category

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Share of 

firms with 

growing 

revenue in 

all firms 

(percent)

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Count 

Sample 

Percent 

Sample 

Count 

Share of 

firms with 

growing 

revenue in 

all firms 

(percent) 

No Revenue 168 9.5 213 10.4 44.1 50 5.8 126 5.4 28.4 

Some 

Revenue 

($10,000 or 

less) 

571 32.3 538 26.3 51.5 237 27.3 483 20.7 32.9 

$10,001 to 

$100,000 706 40.0 808 39.6 46.6 358 41.2 1006 43.0 26.2 

$100,001 or 

more 

321 18.2 484 23.7 39.9 224 25.8 723 30.9 23.7 

Total 1766 100.0 2043 100.0 46.4 869 100.0 2338 100.0 27.1 

Table A13: Number of Total Owners and Employees 2004 Startups that 

were Sold or Merged with another Business in 2005 

2004 Number of Total Owners in a Business 

Count 

1 2 3 4 Total 

0 15 5 1 1 22 

1 3 1 1 0 5 

2 - 10 7 4 2 1 4 

11-24 0 0 1 0 2 

25 0 1 0 0 1 

2004 Number of 

Total Employees 

in a Business 

Total 25 11 5 2 43 

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 57
Table A14: Number of Total Owners and Employees in a 2004 Startup 

that was out of Business in 2005 

2004 Number of Total Owners in a Business 

Count 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total 

0 146 39 8 2 1 1 197

1 35 3 3 0 0 0 41

2 - 10 32 19 3 4 0 0 58

11-24 0 0 2 0 0 0 2

25 0 1 0 0 0 0 1

2004 Number of 

Total Employees 

in a Business 

Total 213 62 16 6 1 1 299

Table A15: Number of Total Owners and Employees in a Firm that 

Stayed in Business in 2005 

2004 Number 2004 Number of Total Owners in a Business 

of Employees 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Total % 

0 1769 662 141 48 11 6 3 1 0 0 2641 58.4

1 531 87 17 10 1 1 1 0 1 0 649 14.3

2 - 10 518 363 103 55 9 7 5 3 0 0 1063 23.5

11-24 41 43 21 9 2 1 0 0 0 0 117 2.6

25 15 20 7 2 3 1 1 2 0 3 54 1.2

Total 2874 1175 289 124 26 16 10 6 1 3 4524 

% 63.53 25.97 6.39 2.74 0.57 0.35 0.22 0.13 0.02 0.07 100.00 100.0

Table A16: Primary Business Location and Firms that Went out of or 

Stayed in Business, 2005 

Firms Out of Business Firms Stayed in Business 

Count Percent Count Percent 

Residence: Home or Garage 157 58.2 1820 49.0

Rented or Leased Space 90 33.3 1478 39.7

Space the Business Purchased 13 4.8 214 5.8

Site Where a Client Located 8 3.0 161 4.3

Other 2 0.7 44 1.2

Total 270 100.0 3717 100.0

Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 58
Startup Characteristics of the Kauffman Firm Survey 59

Table A17: Primary Business Location (2005) and Ways of Out of 

Business (2006) 

Ways of Going Out of Business (2006) 

 

 

Sold to 

Another 

Business 

Merged with 

Another 

Business 

Temporarily 

Stopped 

Operations 

Permanently 

Out of 

Business 

Other Total 

Residence: Home or Garage 8 3 47 94 5 157

Rented or Leased Space 15 5 13 49 8 90

Space the Business Purchased 5 0 1 7 0 13

Site Where a Client Located 0 0 1 7 0 8

Other 0 0 0 2 0 2

Total 28 8 62 159 13 270

Table A18: Number of Total Owners and Employees of Businesses in 

Existence in 2005 that Ceased Operations in 2006 

2005 Number of Total Owners in a Business 

1 2 3 4 5 7 9 Total 

0 102 24 9 0 0 1 1 137 

1 41 10 1 0 1 0 0 53 

2-10 40 16 7 3 1 0 0 67 

11-24 1 3 3 1 0 0 0 8 

25+ 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 

Total 184 54 20 4 2 1 1 266 

Table A19: Number of Total Owners and Employees in Businesses in 

Existence in 2005 that Stayed in Business in 2006 

2005 Number of Total Owners in a Business 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Total % 

0 1033 322 90 38 7 3 2 1 0 0 1496 40.6 

1 543 83 11 6 5 1 2 0 1 0 652 17.7 

2-10 678 398 120 54 24 9 2 1 2 2 1290 35.0 

11-24 67 47 26 9 2 4 1 1 0 2 159 4.3 

25+ 28 30 13 7 3 1 2 2 1 2 89 2.4 

Total 2349 880 260 114 41 18 9 5 4 6 3686 100.0