Success Factors Of Startup Companies An Empirical Analysis Of E Business Startups In North America

Master's Thesis from the year 2014 in the subject Engineering - Industrial Engineering and Management, grade: 1.0, Technical University of Berlin, language: English, abstract: This thesis develops a six-step success factor model for IT-startups. It is based on an empirical analysis (Grounded Theory Method) of North American Startups. Further it provides an investment-decision model used by Venture Capitalists and Business Angels while deciding which Startup to fund. Every day an increasing number of business ventures (startups) are founded all over the world, especially in North America. Particularly the number of internet-based startups (e-business startups) with the endless possibilities of the online world is increasing continuously. However, most of these startups fail, while only a minority is able to survive and actually be successful. The research objective of this thesis is to identify and understand the factors that make an e-business startup successful. As a result, a six-step success factor model was generated that consists of the following six categories: preparation, entrepreneur/team, product/idea, financing, targeting and execution as well as one additional category, the external factors. Each of the categories consists of several specific success factors, such as team structure, network or scalability. Furthermore, the venture financing as an integral part of the six-step model was analyzed in detail and the decision-making criteria of venture capitalists were identified. The three decision-making categories for venture capitalists are the team, the product as well as the market along with the strategy. Each of these categories consists both, knock-out criteria (must-requirements, such as problem-solving product) and more detailed criteria (such as team experience or exit-strategy). Given that non-quantifiable factors can also contribute significantly to the success of a business, it is important to consider factors such as the challenges, succ

As more and more startup companies are founded every year worldwide, building up one’s own business does not get easier. Since 9 out of 10 startups fail, future entrepreneurs are well advised to take a look at potential reasons for failure and success. Learning from others’ mistakes and studying success stories can improve their own performance and help to avoid critical errors. The academic paper at hand will provide valuable insights for entrepreneurs. It not only states the most important terms concerning startups but also lists the most important factors for a startup company’s success, according to literature review. Delineating both internal and external factors, this thesis not only delivers a synoptic view of potential challenges inside a startup as well as in its ecosystem, but also juxtaposes these influences in opposition. The second part of this paper analyzes a series of interviews with twelve startup founders from three different regions (the province of North-Rhine Westphalia in Germany, Budapest in Hungary and the state of California in the US). Their views and experiences will be summarized and put into the context of their respective startup ecosystem.

Der wirtschaftliche Einfluß schnell wachsender Unternehmensneugründungen wächst zunehmend. Das Know-how erfolgreicher Unternehmensgründer wird somit zum Schlüsselfaktor des Unternehmenserfolgs. Dieses Buch bietet einen anwendungsorientierten Leitfaden für die erfolgreiche Gründung eines eigenen Unternehmens. Es basiert auf einer erstmals durchgeführten Interviewstudie mit Firmengründern und Aufsichtsratsvorsitzenden (Chief Executive Officers; CEOs) der erfolgreichsten High-Tech-Start-ups in Silicon Valley und Massachusetts sowie mit Risikokapitalgebern, Investmentbankern, Rechtsanwälten und Technikern. (The economic impact of high-growth startups is steadily increasing. Against this background knowledge regarding new venture creation is one of the key factors for success. This book presents hands-on lessons for starting, building and growing a successful company. The research is based on more than one hundred interviews with the founders and chief executive officers of America ́s most successful high-tech start-ups in Silicon Valley and Massachusetts as well as venture capitalists, investment bankers, lawyers and technologists involved.)

This book presents a unique range of case studies of fast growing firms in different stages of their development. The companies covered in this volume mainly belong to modern high-tech industries like electronic commerce, biotechnology, software and others. From an investigation of their corporate histories, the authors derive the major success factors in the management of fast growing companies.

The advent of the era of "e-Service," the provision of services over electronic networks like the internet, is one of the dominant business themes of the new millennium. It reflects the fundamental shift in the economy from goods to services and the explosive expansion of information technology. This book provides a collection of different perspectives on e-Service and a unified framework to understand it, even as the business community grapples with the concept. It features contributions from key researchers and practitioners from both the private and public sectors, as well leading scholars from the fields of marketing, information systems, and computer science. They focus on three key areas: the customer-technology interface; e-Service business opportunities and strategies; and public sector e-Service opportunities. The insights they offer will be equally useful to students, scholars, and practitioners.

Levels of 'employer brand awareness' are rising fast across Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific, as leading companies realise that skilled, motivated employees are as vital to their commercial success as profitable customers and apply the principles of branding to their own organization. Starting with a review of the pressures which have generated current interest in employer branding, this definitive book goes on to look at the historical roots of brand management and the practical steps necessary to achieve employer brand management success - including the business case, research, positioning, implementation, management and measurement. Case studies of big-name employer brand stories include Tesco, Wal-Mart, British Airways and Prêt a Manger.

What is this mysterious activity we call entrepreneurship? Does success require special traits and skills or just luck? Can large companies follow their example? What role does venture capital play? In a field dominated by anecdote and folklore, this landmark study integrates more than ten years of intensive research and modern theories of business and economics. The result is a comprehensive framework for understanding entrepreneurship that provides new and penetrating insights. Examining hundreds of successful ventures, the author finds that the typical business has humble, improvised origins. Well-planned start-ups, backed by substantial venture capital, are exceptional. Entrepreneurs like Bill Gates and Sam Walton initially pursue small, uncertain opportunities, without much capital, market research, or breakthrough technologies. Coping with ambiguity and surprises, face-to-face selling, and making do with second-tier employees is more important than foresight, deal-making, or recruiting top-notch teams. Transforming improvised start-ups into noteworthy enterprises requires a radical shift, from "opportunistic adaptation" in niche markets to the pursuit of ambitious strategies. This requires traits such as ambition and risk-taking that are initially unimportant. Mature corporations have to pursue entrepreneurial activity in a much more disciplined way. Companies like Intel and Merck focus their resources on large-scale initiatives that scrappy entrepreneurs cannot undertake. Their success requires carefully chosen bets, meticulous planning, and the smooth coordination of many employees rather than the talents of a driven few. This clearly and concisely written book is essential for anyone who wants to start a business, for the entrepreneur or executive who wants to grow a company, and for the scholar who wants to understand this crucial economic activity.

Most startups fail. But many of those failures are preventable. The Lean Startup is a new approach being adopted across the globe, changing the way companies are built and new products are launched. Eric Ries defines a startup as an organization dedicated to creating something new under conditions of extreme uncertainty. This is just as true for one person in a garage or a group of seasoned professionals in a Fortune 500 boardroom. What they have in common is a mission to penetrate that fog of uncertainty to discover a successful path to a sustainable business. The Lean Startup approach fosters companies that are both more capital efficient and that leverage human creativity more effectively. Inspired by lessons from lean manufacturing, it relies on “validated learning,” rapid scientific experimentation, as well as a number of counter-intuitive practices that shorten product development cycles, measure actual progress without resorting to vanity metrics, and learn what customers really want. It enables a company to shift directions with agility, altering plans inch by inch, minute by minute. Rather than wasting time creating elaborate business plans, The Lean Startup offers entrepreneurs—in companies of all sizes—a way to test their vision continuously, to adapt and adjust before it’s too late. Ries provides a scientific approach to creating and managing successful startups in a age when companies need to innovate more than ever.