Why do some geographic areas — such as California’s Silicon Valley — produce so many entrepreneurial companies?
The answer may be workplace peers. Working with former entrepreneurs makes individuals more likely to start their own businesses, says Professor Jesper Sørensen of the Stanford Graduate School of Business. STANFORD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS — Entrepreneurs are people who sacrifice the security of a regular paycheck for the freedom and flexibility to build their own business. Be they empire-generating gurus like Steve Jobs or lesser-known, self-employed freelance writers, why do some individuals forego traditional business structures to branch out on their own? Workplace peers are one important influence, say researchers. Those who work with former entrepreneurs are more likely to start their own businesses. Analyzing comprehensive labor census data from Denmark, Jesper Sørensen of Stanford Graduate School of Business and Ramana Nanda of the Harvard Business School found that those who became first-time entrepreneurs between 1990 and 1997 were more likely to have worked with colleague
