The Development of Human Capital in Young Entrepreneurs

This paper provides insights into the human capital development of a group of young entrepreneurs, all of whom have built growth businesses with turnovers of between 1M British Pounds and 90M British Pounds. Their development of knowledge and skills was investigated before and during the creation of their first main ventures. This is significant in the context of current UK government policies to encourage young people to consider entrepreneurship as a career. The study considers the relevant skills and knowledge the young entrepreneurs developed prior to starting their businesses, the influences they experienced and how this pre-entrepreneurial learning affected their venture creation activities. Finally, the paper considers the challenges the entrepreneurs faced as they grew their businesses. (Contains 3 notes and 1 table.)