And indeed, research on Silicon Valley law firms as well as on Dutch accounting firms, shows that moving employees do not only enhance the survival chances of the poaching firms but also decrease the survival probability of the firms from which they were poached.

FORBES: Seeing your employees getting poached -- it's not all bad

More specifically, she cites research that shows the probability of start-up survival is 7% for a company started by an entrepreneur with no college education or industry expertise with both education and industry expertise, the odds of start-up survival rise to 77%.

FORBES: Memo To Peter Thiel: Start-Up CEOs Are Not Heroes