The Anatomy of an Entrepreneur: Family Background and Motivation

The Kaufman Foundation reports:

Entrepreneurs are among the most celebrated
people in our culture. Celebrity entrepreneurs such as
Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Sergey Brin, and Larry Page often
grace the covers of prominent publications. These
company founders and innovators fuel economic
growth and give the nation its competitive edge.
According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, in
2004 small firms (<500 employees) employed 50.9
percent of the private-sector work force and generated
50.7 percent of the non-farm private gross domestic
product.1 According to that same report, in 2004
firms with fewer than 500 employees had $1.9 trillion
in annual payroll, not including benefits. An extensive
report released in November 2008 by the U.S. Small
Business Administration found that small firms had a
higher percentage of patents per employee than larger
firms, and that younger firms were more likely to have
a higher percentage of patents per employee than
older firms.2
However, very little is known today about the
backgrounds, life histories, motivations, and beliefs of
the founders of businesses in high-growth industries.
Understanding how entrepreneurs develop, the
circumstances that can foster or induce
entrepreneurship, and the mindset and beliefs of
entrepreneurs could prove helpful both in supporting
the existing class of entrepreneurs and in augmenting
the ranks of entrepreneurs.

A very interesting report(PDF).