The founding and early development of Domestic New Ventures andInternational New Ventures is examined based upon a large scale survey of Danishmanufacturing firms. The firms are classified into five different categories andcompared with regard to their foundation and development within the first 3 years.The article contributes with a demonstration of differences between these categoriesof firms with regard to the number and mindset of founders, the growth of the firm,and the networks of firm.