An Overview of the Kauffman Firm Survey: Results from the 2004-2008

Although entrepreneurial activity is an important part of a capitalist economy, data about U.S. businesses in their early years of operation have been extremely limited. As part of an effort to gather more data on new businesses in the United States, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation (the Foundation) sponsored the Kauffman Firm Survey (KFS), a panel study of new businesses founded in 2004 and tracked over their early years of operation. The KFS dataset provides researchers with a unique opportunity to study a panel of new businesses from startup to sustainability, with longitudinal data centering on topics such as how businesses are financed; the products, services, and innovations these businesses possess and develop in their early years of existence; and the characteristics of those who own and operate them.