RESEARCH NOTE PREDICTING NEW VENTURE SURVIVAL: AN ANALYSIS OF “ANATOMY OF A START-UP.” CASES FROM INC. MAGAZINE WILLIAM B. GARTNER University of Southern California JENNIFER A. STARR Suffolk University SUBODH BHAT San Francisco State University EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This article tests the insights and predictions of venture success as offered by reporters and experts in Inc. magazine, to the predictions generated from an analysis of data from a venture screening questionnaire. The venture screening questionnaire, consisting of 85 items covering four broad catego- ries: (1) Individual Characteristics; (2) Entrepreneurial Behaviors; (3) Strat- egy; and (4) Environment, was used to evaluate 27 “Anatomy of a Start-up” articles from Inc. magazine. The creation of the questionnaire was guided by the following premises: Individual Characteristics. We hypothesized that the chances of venture survival would be im- proved if: (1) entrepreneurs had substantial knowledge and ability at the beginning of the start-up story; (2) entrepreneurs gained knowledge and ability during the start-up process; and (3) entrepreneurs contin- ued to demonstrate substantial knowledge and ability at the end of the start-up story. Entrepreneurial Behaviors. We hypothesized that entrepreneurs who expended more effort in any Address correspondence to Dr. W.B. Gartner, University of Southern California, The Entrepreneur Program, Bridge Hall One, Marshall School, Los Angeles, CA 90089-1421. E-mail: wgartner@marshall.usc.edu The authors would like to thank Bruce Hunter, Hon-Kiong Chia, and Mark Claussen for analyzing the case studies, and the editor and reviewers for their suggestions for improving this manuscript. Journal of Business Venturing 14, 215–232  1998 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved. 0883-9026/99/$–see front matter 655 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10010 PII S0883-9026(97)00063-3