Focusing on entrepreneurship entry modes, we investigate two research questions regarding firm survival: how does the survival probability differ between business takeovers and new venture start-ups? And how do the determinants of survival differ between the two entry modes? Using a large French dataset, we find that business takeovers have a higher survival chance than new venture start-ups. Yet, the differences between two entry modes partially disappear when controlling for differences in founder and firm characteristics. Moreover, we identify differences in the determinants of survival between the two groups, highlighting the distinction between the two forms of entrepreneurship.