Buying and Selling Entrepreneurial Assets

Abstract

How are the options to buy and sell a business relevant for entrepreneurs? Prospective entrepreneurs value the purchase of mature firms while incumbents want to recover both the tangible and intangible value of their businesses upon exit. We introduce a theory of entrepreneurial assets transfer consistent with empirical evidence and centered around a businesses for sale market that lets entrepreneurs trade the maturity components of their firms. We find that shutting that market down leads to a substantial drop in aggregate output and alters the pool of firms, incentives to enter and exit, and the wealth distribution.