Resumen
A spin-out happens when an employee quits a company to start a new venture; however, theories do not agree on whether the ?spin-out entrepreneur? will start the company in the same or in a different industry. We investigated a sample of 250 entrepreneurs and 120 spin-out companies to understand what led an entrepreneur or a group of founders to enter a new industry. Our results contribute to theory, suggesting that spin-out entrepreneurs usually move to different and innovative industries owing to recombination of knowledge in founding teams. Our evidence supports the positive effect of different experiences within the team.