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The purpose of this paper is to examine differences in factors influencing use of entrepreneurial assistance programs by male and female entrepreneurs.

Data from the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics I are used to determine drivers of assistance program use by men and women using logistic regression. These drivers include size and composition of the start-up team and personal network, experiences of the entrepreneur, team and network; support provided by the team and network, and other factors.

In total, 31 percent of female entrepreneurs and 24 percent of male entrepreneurs in the sample used entrepreneurial assistance programs. Results show that drivers of assistance use do vary by gender. Education, business/entrepreneurial knowledge and involvement in a technology-based start-up are drivers of program use by women. Personal network size, entrepreneurial experience of start-up team, and having worked for parents’ business are drivers of program use by men.

This study inform policy and support practices about use of assistance programs and suggests that the support drivers of women are different, justifying continued need for targeted assistance programs such as those specifically for women starting technology-based ventures.

This research addresses gender differences in use of assistance programs. Results provide support that a “one-size-fits all” support may not be useful, and that there may be need for targeted assistance programs.

The purpose of this paper is to study support factors influencing the entrepreneur's use of external assistance programs and explain why some entrepreneurs obtain support from these programs while others do not. The proposed framework suggests that outside assistance programs are a support option of last resort that entrepreneurs utilize only when the start‐up team and personal network are incapable of providing support.

Data from the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics I are used to perform logistic regression of use of assistance programs on the entrepreneur's human capital and characteristics of the start‐up team and personal network.

A total of 26 percent of entrepreneurs in the sample made contact with assistance programs. Regression results suggest that entrepreneurs who are more educated and experienced, rely extensively on the start‐up team, have a less experienced start‐up team, and have larger personal networks are more likely to use assistance programs.

This study informs policy and support practices about the different factors that drive entrepreneurs to use assistance programs provided by public agencies, professional organizations, and educational institutions.

This research fills the gap in existing research of entrepreneurial assistance programs by studying both entrepreneurs who do and do not obtain support, thus addressing the selection bias problem.

The purpose of this paper is to examine if and how entrepreneurial assistance programs, through guided preparation, affect start-up success.

–This study uses Heckman's two-stage sample selection model to predict the effect of contact and interactions with entrepreneurial support programs on start-up outcomes while taking into account the entrepreneur's self-selection into obtaining support from these programs.

The results indicate that, after controlling for individual characteristics, activities undertaken during the start-up process, organizational characteristics and external factors, guided preparation contributes to a greater likelihood of achieving positive start-up outcome. This finding holds even after controlling for the entrepreneur's self-selection into contacting and using outside assistance.

Results suggest that self-selection bias remains a concern when studying the impact of assistance programs on start-up outcomes. Future research should make sure to address self-selection in their analysis.

The study's results have implications for the design of start-up programs. It highlights the importance of delivery structures that are fluid, flexible, interactive, experiential, and tailored to the individual entrepreneur's needs.

This study focusses on assistance programs broadly defined (includes many different types of programs) and provides an empirical analysis that addresses self-selection.