Founding Team Research Articles

Paradox: Revolutionizing American-Inspired Sportswear in the Chinese Market

Paradox aims to disrupt the rapidly growing Chinese sportswear market, which has reached a size of $47.8 billion, by targeting men aged 15-35 years—a demographic that consumes over 60% of the sportswear in the country. The company leverages American-inspired designs combined with affordable pricing, addressing the gap created by leading brands such as Nike, which often overprice their products, limiting access for the targeted consumers. Paradox’s competitive advantage lies in delivering quality comparable to American labels at lower price points, appealing to emerging middle-income earners eager to embrace an American athletic lifestyle.The founding team, comprised of experienced professionals from the sportswear industry, has streamlined the supply chain and manufacturing processes to maintain efficiency while employing a direct-to-consumer business model. With projected conservative sales growth of 25% per year and a solid marketing strategy focused on influencer partnerships and e-commerce, Paradox is set for significant market entry. The startup seeks $10,000 in funding to launch its first collection and expects to generate profits within the first 18 months. With its unique value proposition, strong management team, and targeted approach to an underserved market, Paradox presents itself as a lucrative investment opportunity poised to revolutionize the sportswear sector in China.

EXPRESS: A tale of two ventures: How founder experiences shape search in tech-anchored and market-anchored ventures

This article distinguishes two types of technology ventures: market anchored and technology anchored. These ventures need to conduct effective technological or market search, the identification and evaluation of alternative technologies or markets, respectively, and form a viable technology–market combination. These types of search are fostered by appropriate experiences of the founding team. A study of 203 new technology ventures shows contrasting effects of breadth and depth of the founding team’s market and technological experiences on the initial success of the venture types.

Human and social capital and ethnically diverse founding teams in high-tech industries

AbstractThis paper investigates the impact of ethnicity within founding teams of high-tech ventures and asks whether such diversity confers advantages or disadvantages. Drawing on theories of human and social capital, we aim to illuminate the potential benefits of ethnic diversity in founding teams, with a particular focus on the roles played by ethnic and industry contexts. Our analysis encompasses data from 1,217 Israeli high-tech ventures operating between 1996 and 2015, spanning two key industries: life sciences (LS) and information technology (IT). We systematically evaluate the characteristics of these ventures across various dimensions of human and social capital, comparing those with ethnically diversity founding teams—including both Jewish and Arab members—with those characterized by ethnically homogeneous teams. Our findings indicate that ventures with diversity teams generally achieve higher values across most measured variables, particularly within the LS industry. However, ventures with exclusively Jewish founding teams maintain an edge in variables related to fundraising across both industries. Our study concludes that ethnically diverse founding teams benefit significantly from the bonding and bridging knowledge networks they establish, which are particularly enhanced by higher education within the life sciences sector. Additionally, founders’ human and social capital contribute to the development of expansive networks that foster knowledge, capabilities, and expertise across diverse domains. We discuss the implications of these findings and suggest directions for future research in this evolving field.

How to establish a new medical school? A scoping review of the key considerations.

Establishing new medical schools in medically under-served regions is suggested as part of the solution to the problem of doctor shortages and maldistributions. Establishing a new medical school is, however, a complex undertaking with high financial and political stakes. Critically, the evidence-base for this significant activity has not previously been elucidated. This paper presents the first scoping review on this vitally important, yet under-researched aspect of medical education and health workforce planning. To better understand the process of new medical school establishment, this review posed two research questions: (1) What is the nature of the available literature on establishing a new medical school?; (2) What are the key factors to be considered when establishing a new medical school? Five databases and grey literature were searched in 2015 and 2021 for English-language articles, using search terms related to new medical schools and their establishment. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were based on relevance and suitability in answering the research questions. Seventy-eight articles were analysed both structurally and thematically to understand the nature of the literature and the key considerations involved. Structurally, most articles were descriptive pieces outlining personal and institutional experiences and did not make use of research methodologies nor theory. Thematically, thirteen key considerations were identified including reasons for establishment; location choices; leadership and governance; costs and funding; partnerships; staffing; student numbers; student recruitment; curriculum design and implementation; clinical training sites; buildings and facilities; information and technology resources; and accreditation. Significant gaps in the literature included how to obtain the initial permission from governing authorities and the personal costs and burnout experienced by founding leaders and staff. Although, the literature on new medical school establishment is empirically and theoretically under-developed, it is still useful and reveals a number of important considerations that could assist founding leaders and teams to maximise the outcomes and impact of their establishment efforts. Critically, the evidence-base underpinning this complex undertaking needs to be better informed by theory and research.

Why small business owners get demotivated? Modeling “unwillingness to grow” using ISM approach

Purpose Even after establishing their business successfully, many business owners get demotivated, and it leads to unwillingness to grow. This study aims to propose a comprehensive model that represents interrelationships among various personal factors affecting “unwillingness to grow.” Design/methodology/approach The personal factors for unwillingness to grow were identified by extant literature, and expert interviews were conducted to establish the contextual relationships among these factors. The interrelationships among the filtered variables have been done using interpretive structural modeling (ISM) and MICMAC analysis was done to determine the importance of each factor in influencing “unwillingness to grow.” Findings In total, 30 personal attributes were identified from previous literature, out of which 15 were selected for the final study. The result identifies 7 variables having a strong impact on “unwillingness to grow.” These attributes are “absence of strong network,” “lack of vision,” “lack of proactiveness,” “reluctance to involve external consultants,” “absence of/small founding team,” “lack of ambition” and “improper attitude.” Originality/value The research attempts to create a bricolage of all the important personal factors affecting “unwillingness to grow.” Previous researches have used few attributes, but with the help of ISM, a graphical modeling technique, it became possible to draw interrelationship between 15 attributes. Further, with the help of MICMAC, the importance of each attribute was determined.

The gender gap in the first deal: Equity split among founding teams

We investigate the gender gap in equity splits among members of founding teams using proprietary survey data on Japanese startups. The results reveal that, on average, female founder chief executive officers (CEOs) own 12 percentage points less equity than male founder CEOs. The gender equity gap is more pronounced in founding teams in which the founder CEO is a woman and the other founding members are men. However, the results vary depending on the founding teams’ characteristics. Notably, the gender equity gap is observed only in teams with individuals belonging to older generations and in teams from regions (prefectures) with great gender inequality. The findings indicate that gender norms influence the gender equity gap.

Educational heterogeneity of the founding team of innovative start-ups: confirmations and denials

This paper focuses on the value drivers of innovative start-ups (ISUs). Few companies can overcome the start-up stage; often, the early performance is insufficient, and the potential contribution of innovation to economic development is very poor. Studies based on a firm-level perspective show mixed results on the factors affecting the growth of ISUs. Most studies emphasize the role of “external” drivers of ISUs growth, while more knowledge is required of “internal” drivers. Consequently, this research focuses on the relationship between the features of the founding teams and the early performance of ISUs. Specifically, it concentrates on education heterogeneity and analyzes whether the heterogeneity of the founding team in terms of educational level (vertical heterogeneity) and field of studies (horizontal heterogeneity) affects the Italian ISUs performance. Growth regression and unconditional quantile regression models confirm the prior literature: the educational level affects the performance and the vertical heterogeneity in the composition of the founding team is relevant for ISUs performance. However, the results also suggest interesting denials: horizontal heterogeneity does not play any role, and no moderating effect of heterogeneity is shown. These findings are strongly attractive for new ventures and policymakers.

Founding Team Fundamentals: New Perspectives on the Inner Workings of Founding Teams

Founding Team Fundamentals: New Perspectives on the Inner Workings of Founding Teams

Early-Stage New Ventures: Individual Entrepreneurs, Founding Teams, and Founder-Investor Relations

Early-Stage New Ventures: Individual Entrepreneurs, Founding Teams, and Founder-Investor Relations

Tokenomics: Financial Challenges for All-Female Founding Teams in Accelerator Cohorts

Tokenomics: Financial Challenges for All-Female Founding Teams in Accelerator Cohorts

Stay or Leave? The Role of Psychological Contract Violation of Entrepreneurial Founder Team Members

Stay or Leave? The Role of Psychological Contract Violation of Entrepreneurial Founder Team Members

Dynamics of founding team diversity and venture outcomes: A simulation approach

AbstractResearch summaryEntrepreneurship research overlooks the dynamics of changing diversity in founding teams. Our simulations calibrated from existing studies suggest that founding teams that change diversity exhibit greater discounted performance for their ventures due to being less diverse and thus their ventures surviving longer, compared to teams that maintain their diversity. Moreover, discounted performance is higher for teams changing diversity due to other teams' performance than due to their own poor performance. Simulating without membership changes the interdependence between team diversity, venture performance, and team disruption, we find that while team diversity is overall performance‐enhancing, this association differs across contexts and its impact varies as ventures mature. Founding team diversity should thus be seen as a continuum where moderate diversity can best serve teams in turbulent environments.Managerial summaryWe simulated the behavior of founding teams over time to show that compared to teams that do not change their diversity, those who do experience greater discounted performance for their business ventures. This improvement stems from the increased longevity, and thus greater accumulated performance, for teams that switch since they are more rather than less homogeneous. Our investigation also indicates that ventures led by teams that change diversity because they aspire to outperform other teams, tend to exhibit greater discounted performance than those that change diversity to outperform themselves. When we investigate the interconnectedness of teams' diversity, ventures' performance, and disruption, albeit without allowing for any changes in team diversity, we find that while diversity usually helps, teams moderately diversified tend to perform best in turbulent times.

Research on the Behavior of Start-up Company Managers

Companies established within five years are usually called startups and are usually characterized by small size, limited resources, innovative business models or products, passionate and energetic founding teams, and multiple challenges. Start-up companies are the vitality and source of social and economic development. All unicorn companies and conglomerates evolve from start-up companies. Today, when social classes are relatively rigid, founding a company is one of the ways to quickly achieve economic freedom and social value, and it is also a core part of promoting social and economic development. This article combs through the relevant literature on the influencing factors of entrepreneur behavior, analyzes the internal and external environment faced by entrepreneurs, and explores entrepreneur behavior based on the personal characteristics of entrepreneurs. It has a certain guiding significance for the behavior of start-up company operators and has a certain guiding significance for policies. It has certain reference significance for framers to better formulate relevant policies to encourage entrepreneurship.

How founding team members respond to exploration and exploitation behaviors by mimicking and switching

ABSTRACT Organizational ambidexterity evolves as an aggregated capability based on individuals’ behaviors within a venture. But what happens in founding teams when the founders collaborate? This study aims to decipher individual exploitations/explorations’ interpersonal connection to understand how the social interaction between founders translates into emergent team processes that either enable or hinder the team’s capacity to become ambidextrous. The empirical setting is an exploratory case study of 15 teams, using data from 39 interviews and 12 observations. Our findings indicate that certain behaviors linked to ambidexterity reinforce the co-founders’ behavior. The other founders often mimic the initial exploitation behavior. Nevertheless, individual behavior can also cause co-founders to exhibit switching responses, especially when responding to initial exploration behavior. These observed stimulation response patterns revealed opportunities and threats for the founding team. Our study contributes to the literature on ambidexterity, particularly to the connection of team and individual levels of analysis.

The impact of managerial autonomy and founding-team marketing capabilities on the relationship between ambidexterity and innovation performance

Despite extensive research on the impact of ambidexterity strategy on firm performance, little is known about how team and individual factors affect innovation performance in new-venture businesses. In response to the call for research on the topic, this study examines the relationship between ambidexterity—which includes exploitative and exploratory strategies—and innovation performance. The study finds that the relationship is mediated by founding-team marketing capabilities and moderated by managerial autonomy. This model is empirically tested using 165 new ventures in the UAE. The findings suggest that an exploratory strategy improves the founding team's marketing capabilities, whereas an exploitative strategy worsens these capabilities. Exploitative strategy and the founding team's marketing abilities are negatively affected by managerial autonomy. However, managerial autonomy has no significant impact on either exploratory strategy or the founding team's marketing capabilities. The findings also show that the founding team's marketing skills mediate the relationship between exploratory strategy—but not exploitative strategy—and innovation performance.

ChatGPT for Founding Teams: An Entrepreneurial Pedagogical Innovation

ChatGPT is taking the world and the education sector by storm. Many educators are still hesitant to integrate it within their curricula, owing to the limited practical and theoretical guidance on its applications, despite early conceptual studies advocating for its potential benefits. This pedagogical innovation applied an effectual logic to implement ChatGPT for a founding team activity within an entrepreneurship course. Composing a founding team is an inundating task in venture creation, with long-lasting consequences. So far, there is yet to be an ideal approach proposed in literature or observed in real-life for doing it. In this pedagogical innovation, three student teams with varying business ideas prompted ChatGPT using different keywords and levels of details, to get recommendations on essential team members, their roles and equity split. Each team presented their findings, and then the classroom engaged in a collective discussion. The students were surveyed afterwards to assess the reception and effectiveness of the intervention. Their feedback showed an overwhelming favoritism of ChatGPT, as a convenient and resourceful learning tool. The study establishes the potential value of ChatGPT as a heutagogical tool that supports student-centric entrepreneurial learning across educational institutions and the entrepreneurship ecosystem that extends to the venture creation process.

Equity ownership and identification with the founding team

AbstractFounders benefit from identifying with their founding teams because identification facilitates cooperation in the team, aligns founders' actions with the norms and interests of the team, and, ultimately, enhances team performance. High identification with the team is likely to be shaped by structural characteristics of the founding team and, more specifically, founders' equity stakes—that is, founders' legal ownership of the venture. In the present study, we explore the consequences of equity ownership on a founder's subsequent identification with the team. We build on psychological ownership theory to theorize that, on the one hand, equity can trigger feelings of responsibility and care for the venture, but, on the other, it can also drive possessiveness and territoriality. These two opposing sides of psychological ownership suggest a curvilinear relationship between equity ownership and a founder's subsequent identification with the team. As equity is a team reward, we suggest that founders' perceptions of team performance accentuate the relationship. Longitudinal data including 156 data points from 82 founders support our theorizing. We discuss implications for the literatures on team identification, equity ownership, and psychological ownership.

Diversity in Founder Teams

Diversity in Founder Teams

The effect of founding team characteristics on start-ups' performance: the case of Campania

The effect of founding team characteristics on start-ups' performance: the case of Campania

Testing the Waters: Founding Team Composition and Search Heuristics in Academic Entrepreneurial Ventures

Testing the Waters: Founding Team Composition and Search Heuristics in Academic Entrepreneurial Ventures