Digging through the public profiles of tens of thousands of individuals who've launched startup companies, the social network spotted at least some elements in keeping among them.
Unveiling her findings in a blog published yesterday, Monica Rogati, the senior research scientist at LinkedIn, found that attendance at one of 10 OUGH. S. business schools was one common thread, with Stanford, Harvard, and MIT Sloan towards the top of the list.
Looking at the fields of study sought by future business owners, Rogati discovered that computer engineering, computer science, physics, and electrical engineering were typically the most popular, while social work, civil engineering, education, and nursing were among the minimum popular.
Calling some companies "breeding grounds for entrepreneurs, " Rogati found certain firms appearing the most as former workplaces for entrepreneurs. Those included Adobe, Apple, auction web sites, Electronic Arts, Google, Microsoft, SGI (Silicon Graphics), and Yahoo, among others.
A common perception is that entrepreneurs are usually young when they first start, often in their 20s. But the research showed that 65 percent of these profiled were 30 years and older. And only 2 percent were found to become serial entrepreneurs, meaning people who launch one startup company after another.
What kinds of connections do entrepreneurs have on LinkedIn? Rogati's study revealed that relationships are critical towards the success of entrepreneurs and that most of their connections tended to end up being with venture capitalists, bloggers, and recruiters.
Finally, the top regions to launch startup companies the type of profiled were San Francisco, New York City, and Boston.
To compile the woman's data, Rogati targeted professionals on LinkedIn who identified themselves as founders or co-founders of companies created following the year 2000. Founders of businesses with anywhere from 2 to 200 workers were included. In the end, the profiles of more than 13, 000 entrepreneurs were in contrast to that of the average LinkedIn user.