Creative industries comprise enterprises focusing on the creation, production and distribution of creative or cultural goods and services. Following an explorative empirical approach, we analyse start‐ups in creative industries regarding three issues along the start‐up process: (1) personal characteristics of creative entrepreneurs, (2) their use of labour and capital as input factors, and (3) start‐up success as measured by start‐up survival, degree of innovativeness and change in household income. Based on individual‐level data from the KfW Start‐up Monitor, a large‐scale survey on entrepreneurship in Germany, our regression results show that entrepreneurs in creative industries tend to be younger and better educated than entrepreneurs in other economic sectors. Businesses in creative industries are prevalently started on a small scale, as part‐time occupations, and with less financial resources. Yet they show a higher persistence and an above‐average degree of innovativeness.

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