PurposeThis study aims to enrich the current theoretical debate on the growth of start-up firms by extensively investigating the ongoing empirical studies in this research stream. Moreover, this study identifies drivers whose support roles are confirmed in the literature and recommends further research opportunities.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, we analysed the results of 316 empirical studies on start-up firms and growth and also identified and categorised 66 growth drivers. We presented these drivers in three-dimensional charts: 1) the frequency of using each driver in the 316 studies, 2) the consistency of each driver as measured by the number of studies supporting its statistical significance and 3) the net effect (positive or negative) of each driver on growth.FindingsOur analysis compares extant studies on growth drivers and shows some under-explored growth factors of start-up firms.Practical implicationsBoth start-up managers and policymakers can benefit from this study. This study provided managers with a fine-grained tool on the main growth drivers and can guide policymakers in supporting policies for start-up firms.Originality/valueThis study provides a rich, fine-grained and coherent picture of several potential growth drivers of start-up firms. Moreover, we extended our analysis to various potential drivers more than previous studies on this topic, thereby providing fruitful insights into the critical growth factors for start-up firms.