High-tech firm advantage.

• Position: High-tech firms are more likely to get foreign equity investments - Survey - Brief article

The research paper, "The Capital Structure Decisions of New Firms," is second in a series of Kauffman Firm Survey studies. This study found that high-tech firms are more likely to get outside equity investments in their first year of operation than any other type of company. According to the data, high-tech firms received an average of $31,216 in this type of financing, compared with the $7,000 average for firms overall.

Other key findings in the capital structure study include the following:

* Owner debt and insider equity were the least important sources for startup capital.

* Firms with high credit scores (low risk) started businesses with much higher levels of startup capital than firms with low credit scores. Respectively, the average amount of startup capital was $136,000 and $50,000. These...