• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
• /
• v.15 no.6
• /
• pp.27-42
• /
• 2020

Startup accelerators have emerged as new investment entities that help early startups, which are not easy to survive continuously due to lack of funds, commercialization capabilities, and experiences. As their positive performance on early startups and the ecosystem has been proven, the number of early startups which want to receive their investment is also increasing. However, they are vaguely preparing to attract accelerators' investment because they do not have any information on what factors the accelerators consider important. In addition, researches on startup accelerators are also at an early level, so there are no remarkable prior studies on factors that decide on investment. Therefore, this study aims to help startups prepare for investment attraction by looking at what factors are important for accelerators to invest, and to provide meaningful implications to academia. In the preceding study, we derived five upper level categories, 26 lower level accelerators' investment determinants through the qualitative meta-synthesis method, secondary data analysis, observation on US accelerators and in-depth interviews. In this study, we want to derive important implications by deriving priorities of the accelerators' investment determinants. Therefore, we used AHP that are evaluated as the suitable methodology for deriving importance and priority. The analysis results show that accelerators value market-related factors most. This means that startups that are subject to investment by accelerators are early-stage startups, and many companies have not fully developed their products or services. Therefore, market-related factors that can be evaluated objectively seem to be more important than products (or services) that are still ambiguous. Next, it was found that the factors related to the internal workforce of startups are more important. Since accelerators want to develop their businesses together with start-ups and team members through mentoring, ease of collaboration with them is very important, which seems to be important. The overall priority analysis results of the 26 investment determinants show that 'customer needs' and 'founders and team members' understanding of customers and markets' (0.62) are important and high priority factors. The results also show that startup accelerators consider the customer-centered perspective very important. And among the factors related to startups, the most prominent factor was the founder's openness and execution ability. Therefore, it can be confirmed that accelerators consider the ease of collaboration with these startups very important.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.1-17
• /
• 2021

Existing research on the investment relationship between venture capital and start-up companies has mainly focused on choosing a startup from the perspective of venture capital, an investor. However, as competition among venture capital has increased recently, excellent start-ups with proven technology are choosing venture capital in reversely. This study investigated key elements that affect the selection of the venture capital by a startup. To this end, we looked at which venture capital company was selected as the final investor for startups that have received investment proposals from multiple venture capitals at the same time. Six early start-ups(pre-series A/Series A) and five mid-term (Series B/C) start-ups were interviewed to focus on the influence of the three elements regarding venture capital - 1) venture capital reputation, 2) relationship between cofounders and investors, and 3) value adding service provided by venture capital - on choice. As a result of the research, the investment portfolio among the reputations of venture capital was a very important element in selecting venture capital. However, it has been shown that the age and asset under management of venture capital are not important. Relationships have emerged as a very important element. Finally, as for venture capital's value-adding services, start-ups in this study did not consider it important. In particular, consulting and monitoring by venture capital has been found to be a burdening attribute for startups. This study suggests implications that can increase the probability of successful investment by venture capital in the investment market where investment competition is fierce, and enhance mutual understanding between venture capital and startups.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.1-11
• /
• 2024

In the midst of the current turbulent global economy, traditional investment metrics are undergoing a metamorphosis, signaling the onset of what's often referred to as an "Investment cold season". Early-stage startups, despite their boundless potential, grapple with immediate revenue constraints, intensifying their pursuit of critical investments. While financial indicators once took center stage in investment evaluations, a notable paradigm shift is underway. Organizational culture, once relegated to the sidelines, has now emerged as a linchpin in forecasting a startup's resilience and enduring trajectory. Our comprehensive research, integrating insights from CVF and OCAI, unveils the intricate relationship between organizational culture and its magnetic appeal to investors. The results indicate that startups with a pronounced external focus, expertly balanced with flexibility and stability, hold particular allure for investment consideration. Furthermore, the study underscores the pivotal role of adhocracy and market-driven mindsets in shaping investment desirability. A significant observation emerges from the study: startups, whether they secured investment or failed to do so, consistently display strong clan culture, highlighting the widespread importance of nurturing a positive employee environment. Leadership deeply anchored in market culture, combined with an unwavering commitment to innovation and harmonious organizational practices, emerges as a potent recipe for attracting investor attention. Our model, with an impressive 88.3% predictive accuracy, serves as a guiding light for startups and astute investors, illuminating the intricate interplay of culture and investment success in today's economic landscape.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
• /
• v.15 no.5
• /
• pp.13-35
• /
• 2020

Startup accelerators are a new type of investors providing a certain amount of shares for imparting education, mentoring, networking, and providing space and seed money that can directly resolve the difficulties faced by nascent entrepreneurs (Clarysse, 2016). Startup accelerators have expanded worldwide as their influence over the startup ecosystem has increasingly been established (Pauwels et al., 2016; Cohen & Hochberg, 2014). This study was conducted to derive investment determinants of startup accelerators that are emerging as major investment players around the world. To this end, the accelerator-type determinants of investment were derived. As previous research on this topic is nonexistent, this process involved qualitative meta-synthesis, literature reviews, observation, and in-depth interviews. First, more than 30 research papers were examined for the determinants of investment for firms at an early stage of their foundation, and the categories and determinants of investment in the relevant studies were comparatively analyzed using qualitative meta-synthesis. Further, related data were investigated to identify the characteristics of accelerators, and the startup evaluation process of US accelerators was studied. The more than 100 questions raised during this process were coded to examine the determinants of investment that accelerators considered important. In-depth interviews were conducted with four US accelerators to identify the characteristics of accelerators and key determinants of investment. Ultimately, 5 categories of accelerator-type determinants of investment and 26 subordinate determinants of investment were derived. The results were verified and supplemented by consulting with seven accelerators in Korea. The results were confirmed after pilot tests and verification by seven domestic accelerators. After confirming the accelerator-type determinants, the reliability of them was verified by examining the importance and priority of each category through the quantitative survey of Korean accelerators. The research that elicited the accelerator-type investment determinants is the first research and is expected to be a major reference to the progress of subsequent studies. This research that systematically derived the investment determinants of the accelerator is expected to make major contributions to the progress of follow-up studies, the process of selecting startups, and the investment decision-making process of the accelerators.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
• /
• v.17 no.6
• /
• pp.39-50
• /
• 2022

Based on the signaling theory, this study examined whether startups are more likely to attract venture investment when receiving government R&D subsidies. First, we reviewed previous studies of the investment decision-making process of venture capitalists and understood the conditions that influence investment decisions. Based on previous studies on the signal effect of government subsidies, particularly government R&D grants, on inducing private fund investment, this study revealed a mechanism to induce venture investment by startups. In addition, in order to verify whether government R&D subsidies have the effect of inducing venture investment, an empirical analysis was conducted based on data from startups under seven years and certified as a venture companies in 2021. This paper used PSM(Propensity Score Matching) method and DID(Difference In Difference) analysis for an empirical study to analyze the average treatment effect on the treated group(beneficiary startups of government R&D grants). As a result of empirical analysis, companies that receive more government R&D subsidies after starting a business are more likely to attract venture investment. From two to three years after conducting the first government R&D project, startups that received government R&D grants attracted more venture investment than those that did not. The results of this paper demonstrate that government R&D projects can also affect the venture investment ecosystem, giving policy implications to government R&D projects targeting startups. It is also expected to suggest strategic implications to startups that need new funding.

• 한국벤처창업학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2021.04a
• /
• pp.43-47
• /
• 2021

2020년 8월 중소벤처기업부는 '20년 상반기 벤처기업 및 벤처투자 받은 기업의 일자리 동향, 벤처투자 및 펀드결성 동향 등을 분석한 결과 '20년 상반기 혁신 벤처·스타트업의 투자는 줄었지만, 일자리는 늘어난 것으로 분석됐다. 이는 전년 동월대비 1.3%(35.2만명) 감소한 것을 고려하면 괄목할 만한 성장으로, 코로나19로 인해 어려운 상황에서도 경제협력개발기구(OECD) 국가 중에서 경제성장률 감소폭이 적었던 것은 창업기업이 우리 경제의 버팀목 역할을 하고 있기 때문으로 풀이된다(중소벤처깅업부, 2020). 예비 창업기업 및 초기 창업기업을 위한 전문보육 및 투자를 맞춤형 패키지로 지원하는 엑셀러레이터의 역할은 대중화된 창업생태계 속에서 기대효과가 크다(김선우, 2015). 2020년 8월에 개정된 벤처투자총진법 시행은 액셀러레이터의 제도가 구체화 되고 초기 창업기업에 대한 투자가 보다 활발해져 실질적인 지원이 가능해 질 것을 기대된다. 이러한 액셀러레이터에 대한 관심은 선행연구에서도 나타나고 있다. 국내의 엑셀러레이터는 빠른 확산에도 불구하고 아직까지 그 효과가 검증되지 않은 상황이며, 엑셀러레이터의 지원성과를 객관적으로 평가할 수 있는 체계가 요구되고 있다(김용재, 2014). 액셀러레이터 지원 및 역량과 초기창업기업 성과 간의 연관성을 연구할 필요한 연관성이 있다고 제시한다. 이에 본 연구에서는 최근 3년 이내 스타트업 액셀러레이터로부터 보육 및 투자지원을 받은 초기창업기업 관계자를 대상으로 초기 창업기업 성과와 액셀러레이터 지원간에 관계에서 액셀러레이터 역량이 어떤 역할을 하는지에 대해 분석하고 자 한다.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.101-116
• /
• 2019

Technology-based start-up is important in that it encourages innovation, facilitates the development of new products and services, and contributes to job creation. Technology-based start-up activates entrepreneurship when appropriate support is provided within the ecosystem. Thus, understanding the technology-based start-up ecosystem is crucial. The purpose of this study is as follows. First, in Herrmann et al.'s(2015) study, we compare and analyze the ecosystem of each country by selecting representative regions such as Silicon Valley, Tel Aviv, London and Singapore which have the highest ranking in the start-up ecosystem. Second, we try to deeply understand the start-up ecosystem based on in-depth interviews with various stakeholders such as VC investors, start-ups, support organizations, and professors related to the Korean start-up ecosystem. Finally, based on the results of the study, we suggest development and activation of Korean technology-based start-up ecosystem. As a result, the Seoul start-up ecosystem showed a positive evaluation of government support compared to other advanced countries. In addition, it was confirmed that the ratio of tele-work and start-up company working experience of employees was higher than other countries. On the other hand, in Seoul, It was confirmed that overseas market performance, human resource diversity, attracting investment, hiring technological engineers, and the ratio of female entrepreneurs were lower than those of overseas advanced countries. In addition, according to the results of the interview analysis, Seoul was able to find that start-up ecosystems such as individual angel investors, accelerators, support institution, and media are developing thanks to the government's market-oriented policy support. However, in order for this development to continue, it is necessary to improve the continuous investment system, expansion of diversity, investment return system, and accessibility to the global market. A discussion on this issue is presented.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
• /
• v.17 no.5
• /
• pp.1-16
• /
• 2022

Although start-up is a key national strategy to increase national competitiveness and create employment, the survival rate of start-ups has not improved significantly. This is an important reason for the inability to provide timely and appropriate support to startups, which are in the early stages of start-up, due to the unique limitations of existing start-up support institutions and investors. The relatively recent accelerator is attracting attention as a subject of solving the above problems through professional incubation and investment. However, there are only a few empirical studies on investment determinants that affect the survival and success of accelerators, and there is a lack of theoretical evidence. Accordingly, in previous studies, 12 investment determinants were derived from a static, strategic, and dynamic perspective as accelerator investment determinants based on a business model innovation framework. This study subdivided the accelerator investment determinants derived through previous studies into 21 and analyzed the importance and priority of each factor using AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) analysis technique for domestic accelerator investment experts. As a result of the analysis, the top factors of importance of accelerator investment determinants were in the order of 'human resources', 'customer and market', 'intellectual resources', and 'entrepreneur's ability to realize opportunities'. It can be seen that the accelerator considers the core competencies of startups to implement solutions as the most important factor when making startup investment decisions. It was also confirmed that accelerators are strategic to create a clear value proposition and differentiated market position based on the core competitiveness of startups, and that the core value delivery method prefers a market-oriented business model and recognizes entrepreneurs's innovation capability is an important factor to realize a business model with limited resources in a rapidly changing market. This study is of academic significance in that it analyzes the importance and priority of accelerator investment determinants through demonstration as a follow-up study on accelerator investment determinants derived based on business model innovation theory that reflects the nature, goals, and major activities of accelerator investment. In addition, it is of practical value as it contributes to revitalizing the domestic startup investment ecosystem by providing accelerators with theoretical grounds for investment decisions and specific information on detailed investment determinants.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
• /
• v.15 no.2
• /
• pp.127-135
• /
• 2020

The purpose of this paper is to classify individual startups by growth stage based on data-based quantitative criteria. This is to provide a basis for systematic support for government startups based on accurate statistics on the startup growth process. This startups were the TIPS (Tech Incubator Program for Startup) support company, which used a relatively reliable startup. We found seed money to complete MVP (Minimum Viable Product) within 1.5 years after establishment, verified PMF (Product-Market Fit) within 1 year, attracted Series A investment within 2.5 years after establishment, and successfully commercialized it. It attracted Series B investment for stable growth within 1.5 years (Series B investment within 4 years from start-up). The results of the study, the division of government programs that support stage-based startup commercialization, that is, within three years and within seven years of establishment, is significant to date. Three directions are suggested for future research. First, develop indicators for monitoring startup growth stages. Second, it continuously updates the annual changes and tracks the growth stages of individual startups. Third, we discover the successful growth law of technology-based startups by applying in-depth case analysis of successful startups to the model.

• Korean small business review
• /
• v.43 no.4
• /
• pp.173-209
• /
• 2021

Start-up accelerators are a new type of investor that provide mentoring, education and seed capital to start-ups for a fixed duration and receive a certain stake in them in return. They help start-ups achieve successful commercialization. With increase in performance visibility, the number of private and public sector accelerators rose across domestic and international markets. Private sector accelerators are established and operated by private entities while public sector accelerators are established and operated by the government. Both play complementary roles that are becoming increasingly important to start-ups. Therefore, this study aims to examine the differences in major operational goals and investment determinants between private and public sectors and to understand their implications. The results show that the private sector prioritizes profit generation through the investment, while the public sector aims to contribute to the development of high-growth start-ups, and create region-specific and technology-specific start-up ecosystems. Additionally, both groups consider customer needs the most important determinant. Public groups are more conservative in investments and tend to place importance on objective indicators such as patents, partners, mentors, and co-founders. Conversely, private groups value the capabilities of founders and their ease of collaboration with accelerators. These findings can help start-ups get support from public or private accelerators more easily. It will also help public and private accelerators refine the criteria for selecting start-ups.