Individual members of organizations play a critical role in reshaping organizational knowledge and driving performance. This thesis examines how the heterogeneity of individuals’ skills influence the performance of organizations at distinct phases of their life cycle, during which, organizations experience different knowledge needs. This thesis proposes that individuals’ influence on organizations decision and performance depends on the knowledge and social capital assets that individuals bring into the organization, often accumulated throughout their unique past experiences. Empirically, it puts together three distinct empirical analyses, each focusing on a specific phase of the organization life cycle –namely formation, growth, and persistence–, and relying on unique sets of data. The findings highlight that the heterogeneous experiences of individuals can have unalike effects on organizations, and that the stage of the organization’s life cycle defines the relative importance of different individual experiences, suggesting variance in the relevance of different firm resources during the various stages of its life cycle. The theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.