Start-up financing, owner characteristics, and survival

International audienceWe investigated the relation between the survival of new small businesses and bank loans. This was done using a model that included other loan sources, human capital variables, and company and industry descriptors. We found there is a negative correlation between having a bank loan and business survival, and a positive correlation between having a non-bank loan and survival. However, having a bank loan was a ceteris paribus positive predictor of the survival of start-up companies. Our findings enabled some inferences about the process of loan source selection by start-up business owners, and about the banks' loan granting process