Entrepreneurial team characteristics that influence the successful launch of a new venture

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the characteristics of an entrepreneurial team that influence the likelihood a new venture will successfully launch.Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses a sample of prospective start‐up banks that applied for a charter application in Florida between 1996 and 2005. Logistic regression was used to test the hypotheses.Findings – Analysis suggests that entrepreneurial teams where: the CEO is strongly embedded into the team; no team member holds 10 per cent or more of the firm's total equity; team members have less rather than more industry experience; and more team members have prior founding experience, all point to a successful new venture launch.Research limitations/implications – This study focuses on start‐up success in a single industry and thus may not be generalizable to other research contexts.Practical implications – Results suggest that bank regulators in charge approving new bank charters would be well advised to revisit their guidelines ...