Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship (벤처창업연구)

The Korean Society of Business Venturing (한국벤처창업학회)
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A Study on the Success Factors of Co-Founding Start-up by Step: Focusing on the Case of Opportunity-type Start-up

공동창업의 단계별 성공요인에 관한 연구: 기회형 창업기업 사례를 중심으로

  • Yun, Seong Man (Department of Technology Entrepreneurship, Dongguk University) ;
  • Sung, Chang Soo (Department of Technology Entrepreneurship, Dongguk University)
  • 윤성만 (동국대학교 기술창업학과) ;
  • 성창수 (동국대학교 기술창업학과)
  • Received : 2023.01.10
  • Accepted : 2023.02.25
  • Published : 2023.02.28
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Abstract

From the perspective of an entrepreneur, one of the most important factors for understanding the inherent limitations of a startup, reducing the risk of failure, and succeeding is the composition of the talent, that is, the founding team. Therefore, a common concern experienced by entrepreneurs in the pre-entrepreneurship stage or the early stage of startup is the choice between independent startups and co-founding start-up. Nonetheless, in Korea, the share of independent entrepreneurship is significantly higher than that of co-founding start-up. On the other hand, focusing on the fact that many successful global innovative companies are in the form of co-founding start-up, the success factors of co-founding start-up were examined. Most of the related preceding studies are studies that identify the capabilities and characteristics of individual entrepreneurs as factors influencing the survival and success of entrepreneurship, and there is a lack of research on partnerships, that is, co-founding start-up, which are common in the field of entrepreneurship ecosystems. Therefore, this study attempted a multi-case study through in-depth interviews, collection of relevant data, analysis of contextual information, and consideration of previous studies targeting co-founders of domestic startups that succeeded in opportunistic startups. Through this, a model for deriving the phased characteristics and key success factors of co-founding start-up was proposed. As a result of the study, the key element of the preliminary start-up stage was 'opportunity', and the success factors were 'opportunity recognition through entrepreneur's experience' and 'idea development'. The key element in the early stages of start-up is "start-up team," and the success factor is "trust and complement of start-up team," and synergy is shown when "diversity and homogeneity of start-up team" are harmonized. In addition, conflicts between co-founders may occur in the early stages of start-ups, which has a large impact on the survival of start-ups. The conflict between the start-up team could be overcome through constant "mutual understanding and respect through communication" and "clear division of work and role sharing." It was confirmed that the core element of the start-up growth stage was 'resources', and 'securing excellent talent' and 'raising external funds' were important factors for success. These results are expected to overcome the limitations of start-up companies, such as limited resources, lack of experience, and risk of failure, in entrepreneurship studies, and prospective entrepreneurs preparing for a start-up in a situation where the form of co-founding start-up is attracting attention as one of the alternatives to increase the success rate. It has implications for various stakeholders in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

창업가 관점에서 스타트업의 태생적 한계를 이해하고 실패에 대한 위험부담을 줄이며 성공을 위해 가장 중요한 요인 중 하나는 인재 즉, 창업팀의 구성이다. 이에 예비창업 단계 또는 창업초기 단계의 창업가들이 경험하는 공통적인 고민은 단독창업과 공동창업에 대한 선택일 것이다. 그럼에도 우리나라는 현재 단독창업 비중이 공동창업 대비 현저히 높은 실정이다. 이에 반해 다수의 성공적인 글로벌 혁신기업은 공동창업의 형태라는 점에 주목하여 공동창업 기업의 성공요인에 관해 고찰하였다. 관련 선행연구 대부분 창업의 생존과 성공에 미치는 요인으로 창업가 개인의 역량과 특성을 규명하는 연구들로서 실제 창업생태계 현장에서 흔하게 볼 수 있는 동업 즉, 공동창업에 관한 연구는 부족한 실정이다. 따라서 본 연구는 기회형 창업에 성공한 국내 스타트업의 공동창업자를 대상으로 심층 인터뷰와 관련 자료의 수집, 맥락 정보의 분석 및 선행연구 고찰을 통한 다중사례 연구를 시도하였다. 이를 통해 공동창업의 단계별 특성과 핵심 성공요인을 도출하는 모델을 제언하였다. 연구결과, 예비창업 단계의 핵심요소는 '기회', 성공요인은 '창업가의 경험을 통한 기회인식'과 '아이디어 개발'로 나타났다. 창업초기 단계의 핵심요소는 '창업팀', 성공요인은 '창업팀의 신뢰와 상호보완'으로 '창업팀의 다양성과 동질성'이 조화를 이루어 시너지 효과가 발휘되는 것을 확인하였다. 또한 창업초기 공동창업자 간 발생하는 갈등은 창업생존에 중요한 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 창업팀 갈등은 끊임없는 '의사소통을 통한 상호이해와 존중', '명확한 업무구분과 역할분담'으로 극복할 수 있음을 확인하였다. 창업성장 단계의 핵심요소는 '자원', 성공요인으로 '우수인재 확보'와 '외부자금 조달'이 주요 요인으로 나타났다. 이러한 결과는 창업학 연구에서 한정된 자원과 경험 부족 및 실패에 대한 위험부담 등 창업기업의 한계점을 극복하고 성공률 제고를 위한 대안 중 하나로 공동창업의 형태가 주목받는 상황에서 창업을 준비하는 예비 창업가들과 창업생태계의 다양한 이해관계자들에게 시사하는 바가 있다.

Keywords

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