The project is concerned with so-called restarts, i.e. the firm foundations of previously failed entrepreneurs. The data base is comprised by the ZEW Start-Up Panels. On the one hand the typical characteristics of the firms founded by restarters (branch, legal form, number of employees, turnover) are to be determined as compared to previous firm foundations. In addition the personal characteristics of restarters and first-time entrepreneurs will be compared in order to derive which characteristics predispose entrepreneurs to restart in case of failure.

On the other hand the project is devoted to the influence of the experience of failure on firm success. Since restarters gained insight into all aspects of firm management, their entrepreneurial experience tends to be richer than that of novice or serial founders. They may be able more readily to address crises at an early stage. In order to distinguish the experience of failure from that of entrepreneurial experience in general, restarters firm performance (growth, survival) is compared to that of novice as well as serial founders without experience of failure.