Why corporate recruiters shy away from past Entrepreneurs?

No, of course it's not a crime, but it doesn't exactly win you points with people in the "corporate rat race" either. Especially not if you actually think of it as "rat race", and show this in your body language or attitude.

First off, if the last time you applied for 'corporate' jobs was before the financial crisis, then expect some expectation re-adjustment. There are fewer open positions now, the requirements are higher, and the salaries offered are lower.

Second, managers and HR people can have legitimate fears that you're going to be a source of problems:

• Motivation: If you're used to the speed of small companies, then maybe you won't remain motivated in a large company (where new initiatives are more rare, and take longer to bring to market).
• Shooting for your boss' job: Maybe you'll want your boss' job more or less from day one, feeling you did management and strategy work at or above his level when you where in the startup.
• Not a team-player: Maybe you won't fit in with the other employees, who may not be very driven and energetic -- at least not all of them.

My advice:

1. Contact all of the recruiters who didn't invite you to an interview. Ask them plainly what they thought of your applications, and what concerns they had about you (if any).

2. If the recruiters state your startup experience as a concern, then downplay it in future applications. Don't lie about it, but change the perspective on it. And perhaps write something sincere and optimistic about why a mature company is the right thing for you at your current stage in life.

Maybe there are other reason and you're mis-attributing the low response rate to your startup phase?

For example, I didn't experience that. I left my programming job at a big corp for a year (after working there for 5 years) and didn't have problems getting a job at another big corp after that.

Also, I believe many companies, especially the smaller startupy ones, would consider an entrepreneurial experience a bonus.

I agree with the previous two posters - leaving to form or join a startup is unlikely to be a problem with an employer (in fact, it's probably a bonus). It's more likely that other factors are in play.

You said you had 5 years of experience - were they all at the same company? If it was a year here, 2 years there, etc the concern might be that you will bail on them as (or if) the economic environment improves (I've had this problem myself - I jump jobs based on interest - a series of jobs that look interesting but turn out to be bland can be a killer for future interviews). Given the uncertainty of the future economic environment they want to be sure that you will stay for long enough to justify their investment - if you haven't shown that in the past you may be passed over.

On the flip side if your 5 years experience were all with the same company your experience may be considered as too narrow - you have not been exposed to enough range to be a useful employee in anything but exactly the same job that you left.

My advice, and it has worked for me so far, is to include in your resume external projects you have worked on (ideally with examples of source code) as well as your hobbies (that are related to the position you are applying for).

If you have a single resume that you are sending out to everyone you are doing yourself a disfavour - I have a resume template (that includes all my professional work experience and my educational achievements). When I apply for a position I add the additional information (mentioned above) that may be related to the position. Do NOT lie - everything in your resume must be true - but make sure you point out things you have experience with that may not be required for the position you are applying for but are relevant and show your range of experience.

I make sure I clearly indicate which skills I have professional experience with (ie: people have paid me to do this) versus things I have hobbyist or amateur experience with (ie: I do it for fun at home). Almost all of my interviews have concentrated on the non-professional skills (verifying the professional skills is easy - they call your referees). This gives you an edge over others that only list professional skills.

Anyway - sorry for the verbosity. I hope this helps.