Which Factors Determine the Success or Failure of Startup Companies? A Startup Ecosystem Analysis of Hungary, Germany and the US

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.

Échantillon de lecture
Text Sample:
Chapter 7: Typical Factors of Failure and Success:
The following chapter will provide an overview of the most typical factors leading to a startup's failure or success, according to literature review. Each factor will be outlined along with its impact on startup companies.
7.1. Internal Factors:
Contrary to external factors (chapter 7.2), entrepreneurs have almost complete control over the internal factors for startup success (Geibel/Manickam 2015: 64). It is on them to shape their knowledge, put together the right team and choose the best possible time to realize their business idea.
7.1.1. Personality of the Founders:
The character of a founder is important in many ways. On one hand it is decisive how he is as a person, how he handles his employees, how he negotiates with other companies; and on the other hand, because of the founder's influential position, his interpretations of subjective elements lead the way. He is the one who, in the end, makes a strategic decision based on his sense of reality (Kisfalvi 2002: 514).
"Nearly every mistake I've made has been in picking the wrong people, not the wrong idea" (Arthur Rock, venture capitalist and founder of Intel; source: Sahlman 1999: 351).
The founder's traits, attitudes, his professional experience as well as his practical skillset all play a part in the company's growth potential. Being proactive (Cui et al. 2016: 175), motivated (Barba-Sánchez/Atienza-Sahuquillo 2017: 16), open to innovation and taking risks (Bortoluzzi et al. 2014: 134) are considered to be key assets of an entrepreneur's personality.
Among 4,000 successful entrepreneurs, the study of Butler (2017) detected "the ability to thrive in uncertainty, a passionate desire to author and own projects, and unique skill at persuasion" as the most distinct character traits. Although these particular characteristics might fit to a 20-year old, the ideal age of a startup founder (for otherwise lacking experience) is between 30 and 50 (Kon et al. 2014: 22). Challenging working conditions and the pressure of critical decision-making are both part of the rather stressful job of an entrepreneur (Semerci 2016: 41 f.), which may one day affect his mental or physical health. Therefore, founders with a high tolerance for stress have a valuable asset.
In contrast to common belief, after closely watching over 100 startup companies in the past two decades, Furr/Ahlstrom (2011: 5) discovered that attributes such as passion, vision and determination more often lead to failure than to success. When entrepreneurs invest countless work hours, money and reputation into their project, passion and determination can easily become dogmatism. Falling in love with one's product and ignoring honest customer feedback is the reason why most startups fail (Furr/Ahlstrom 2011: 5). Essentially, there should be a beneficial balance between being confident about what you know while at the same time distrusting your knowledge enough to stay eager to learn more (Kelley 2008).
Ge et al. (2005: 19) state that it would be beneficial, especially for complex technology-driven startups, to have a team of founders rather than one single founder. It allows the company to move faster, be more agile to enter a market and more responsive to a change in market conditions. A team also enables opportunities for accelerated and specialized decision making (Eisenhardt/Schoonhoven 1990: 510), as well as a faster pace for innovations (Eisenhardt/Tabrizi 1995: 104).
An important aspect of a successful team of founders is the relationship among them. Beyond their functional role in the company, entrepreneurs often do not realize how the interplay of personalities affects their performances and the overall success of the venture (May 2016: 112). Therefore, choosing co-founders or hiring employees for a small team should ideally focus on both work skills and personal traits.
The ideal team of co-founders consists of members with experience in t