Critical success factors it-start-up companies

Diploma Thesis , 2006 , 143 Pages , Grade: Gut

Business economics - Investment and Finance

The biggest share of all start-ups is IT start-ups, states Christian Wodon, head of start-up services in the Vienna Economic Chamber. The IT specific topology of low investment and every growing area of applications make creating an IT start-up easier then in every other sector.

The Success Factors Research offers founder, investors and other stake-holders facts on which the probability of a company’s Success and starting points for improvements for the founder(s). Even though the IT specific topology indicates that there are distinctive success factors for that sector, there is yet little literature about success factors of IT start-ups available.

The IT sector is more then any other sector (with the exception of construction) determined by projects. The implementation of new Software, creating IT infrastructure, developing new hardware, migration towards a new ERP-System, all these are projects.

I am going to take a closer look at project management for start-up IT companies, and the road to implement such a system using a case study.
The Case examined is an IT-Start-up Company which is working in the new E-Sports segment. The gained insights about Critical Success Factors will be used to create recommendations for the case company. Furthermore a plan for a Project Management System is created for the company.

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• 1 Introduction
• 1.1 Purpose and target audience of Critical Success Factor research
• 1.2 Definitions
• 1.3 Problems
• 2 Hypothesis
• 3 Approaches
• 3.1 Sources in existing Literature
• 3.2 Expert interview(s)
• 3.3 Founder interviews and questionnaires
• 4 Existing Literature
• 4.1 Definition of Success in various Sources
• 4.2 Books
• 4.3 Periodicals
• 4.4 Other sources
• 5 Classification of Success Factors
• 5.1 Hard Factors vs. Soft Factors
• 5.2 Endogenous Factors vs. Exogenous Factors
• 5.3 Generic vs. Specific Factors
• 5.4 Functional Categorization
• 5.5 Critical Success Factors in general companies
• 5.6 Success Factors especially for IT start-up companies
• 6 Empirical Part
• 6.1 Overview
• 6.2 Goals
• 6.3 Questionnaire design
• 6.4 Questionnaire ‘distribution' and feedback rate
• 6.5 Problems
• 6.6 Expected results
• 6.7 Results
• 6.8 Result summary
• 7 Planning a Project Management System for an IT Start up company
• 7.1 Introduction
• 7.2 Definitions
• 7.3 Case Company: a game publishing company
• 7.4 Requirements on the Project Management System
• 7.5 Procedure
• 7.6 Components of the Project Management System
• 7.7 Methods
• 7.8 Planning the „Project Management System” project
• 7.9 Summary

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

This thesis investigates the critical success factors for IT start-up companies. The author aims to identify key factors that contribute to the success of these companies, based on existing literature, expert interviews, and a survey of IT start-up founders. The goal is to provide insights for founders, investors, and other stakeholders to improve the chances of success for their companies. Here are some of the key themes addressed in the thesis:

• Definition and significance of success for IT start-ups
• Identification and classification of critical success factors
• Empirical research through surveys and interviews
• The role of project management in IT start-up companies
• Development of a project management system for a specific case company

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

• Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the topic of critical success factors in IT start-ups, outlining the purpose and target audience of the research, definitions of key terms, and potential problems to be addressed.
• Chapter 2 presents the hypothesis that specific critical success factors contribute to the success of IT start-ups and can be identified through research.
• Chapter 3 discusses the approaches used in the research, including a review of existing literature, expert interviews, and a survey of IT start-up founders.
• Chapter 4 delves into existing literature on the definition of success and critical success factors for various types of companies, analyzing books, periodicals, and other sources.
• Chapter 5 classifies critical success factors into various categories, including hard factors versus soft factors, endogenous factors versus exogenous factors, generic versus specific factors, functional categorization, and success factors specifically relevant to IT start-up companies.
• Chapter 6 presents the empirical part of the research, outlining the goals, questionnaire design, distribution, feedback rate, and expected results. The chapter concludes with a detailed analysis of the results obtained from the survey.
• Chapter 7 focuses on the planning of a project management system for an IT start-up company. It introduces the case company, defines the requirements for the project management system, outlines the procedure for its implementation, and details the components, methods, and planning process involved.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

The research explores critical success factors, IT start-up companies, project management, empirical research, case study, questionnaire design, and success factors specific to the IT sector. This research focuses on understanding the specific factors contributing to the success of IT start-ups, particularly in the context of project management implementation.

• College: Fachhochschule des bfi Wien GmbH (Projektmanagement und IT)
• Grade: Gut
• Author: Benedikt Dellmour (Author)
• Publication Year: 2006
• Pages: 143
• Catalog Number: V170391
• ISBN (eBook): 9783640893287
• ISBN (Book): 9783640893461
• Language: English
• Tags: IT, Start up, Project Management, Success Factors