The process of family succession, through well-formulated strategies, should result in organizational success. Therefore, as a basic strategy, this work sought to identify the entrepreneurial profile of company founders and their successors, in relation to the Entrepreneurial Behavioral Characteristics (EBCs) in 150 small and medium-sized family-owned companies, factories and commercial establishments, with more than ten years in existence, in Chapecó, Santa Catarina. The study was a descriptive one, using the quantitative method, and the data collection tool used was a structured questionnaire, based on a tested and consolidated model. The analysis used descriptive statistics. The results indicate the occurrence of EBCs by the founding entrepreneurs and their successors, the most representative being: the establishment of goals, with 21 points, the search for information, the demand for quality and efficiency, and running calculated risks, with 19 points. It was highlighted that the successors are even more entrepreneurial than the founders, which could indicate greater perspectives for the performance of the role of the entrepreneur.