Submitted by June Marques Fernandes (june.marques@gmail.com) on 2018-01-11T14:24:34Z No. of bitstreams: 1 05-Tese Doutorado June Marques Fernandes-11jan2018.pdf: 5912972 bytes, checksum: f1f62a045568184533b4f304b9275ee6 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Maria Tereza Fernandes Conselmo (maria.conselmo@fgv.br) on 2018-01-11T17:15:12Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 05-Tese Doutorado June Marques Fernandes-11jan2018.pdf: 5912972 bytes, checksum: f1f62a045568184533b4f304b9275ee6 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-01-11T17:25:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 05-Tese Doutorado June Marques Fernandes-11jan2018.pdf: 5912972 bytes, checksum: f1f62a045568184533b4f304b9275ee6 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-12-12 / As universidades e os centros de pesquisa passaram a desempenhar o papel de capitalizar o conhecimento, propiciando a geração de riqueza e o desenvolvimento social, caracterizando-se como universidades empreendedoras. Contudo, para promover a inovação tecnológica no ambiente acadêmico, observa-se a importância de estruturar um processo de planejamento de negócios tecnológicos (PPNT) que consiga contemplar aspectos sobre produto, tecnologia, transferência de tecnologia e negócios. Dessa forma como parte das contribuições deste estudo, foi realizada aintegração de três processos para consubstaciação do PPNT, são eles: i) o Processo de Planejamento Tecnológico (PPTec), que busca auxiliar na incorporação da tecnologia ao produto e na aproximação deste em relação ao mercado; ii) o Processo de Planejamento de Transferência de Tecnologia (PPTT), que consiste em uma estruturação das fases que compõem o processo de transferência de tecnologia das Universidades para o mercado; e iii) o Processo de Planejamento de Negócios (PPNeg), que corresponde às fases de desenvolvimento do negócio. Observa-se que esses processos de auxílio à gestão da inovação ainda estão envoltos em desperdícios que afetam sua efetiva operacionalização. Em termos práticos isso implica assumir maiores custos para a entrega de tecnologias e negócios ao mercado. Esse aspecto nos conduz a uma reflexão sobre a necessidade da adoção de métodos e ferramentas (denominaremos de “práticas”) orientados pelos princípios lean, em especial para o Lean Product Development (LPD) e o Lean Startup Methodology (LSM). Para responder ao problema de pesquisa proposto – qual seja, “Como as práticas do LPD e LSM contribuem para o PPNT no ambiente acadêmico?” –, foram definidos dois objetivos gerais de pesquisa: a) identificar um conjunto de práticas do LPD que contribuem para a operacionalização do PPTec; b) identificar e avaliar as contribuições das práticas LSM às fases do PPTec, do PPNeg e do PPTT. Para proceder à investigação, esta tese está organizada em quatro capítulos: (i) no capítulo 1, utilizando a pesquisa-ação, objetivou-se a caracterização do modelo de negócios de cada projeto tecnológico analisado; (ii) no capítulo 2, por meio do estudo de casos múltiplos, foi obtida a frequência com que os pesquisadores-empreendedores vivenciaram as categorias e subcategorias de desperdícios durante o desenvolvimento do PPNT, sob a perspectiva do LPD; (iii) no capítulo 3, com a revisão de literatura, foi possível identificar as práticas relacionadas ao LPD capazes de contribuir com a redução dos desperdícios vivenciados pelas equipes dos projetos em diferentes fases do PPTec; (iv) o capítulo 4, por meio da revisão de literatura e, posteriormente, da pesquisa ação, teve o objetivo de identificar e avaliar as práticas LSM capazes de contribuir para mitigar os desperdícios vivenciados pelas equipes dos projetos nas diferentes fases do PPTT e PPNeg. Como resultado da pesquisa, tem-se: 1) a caracterização do modelo de negócio dos casos analisados e a validação empírica do modelo proposto por Reis, Ladeira e Fernandes (2015); 2) uma contribuição ao arcabouço teórico sobre o LPD, na medida em que foi possível identificar as práticas LPD capazes de contribuir com a operacionalização do PPTec em suas diferentes fases, sob uma perspectiva teórica; e 3) uma contribuição ao arcabouço teórico sobre o LSM, uma vez que foram identificadas as práticas LSM capazes de contribuir na operacionalização do PPTec, PPTT e PPNeg, sob uma perspectiva prática. Como limitação da pesquisa, destaca-se que não foram confrontadas as práticas e desperdícios na etapa de ideação da tecnologia. Outra limitação reside no fato da pesquisa ter sido aplicada em somente nove projetos de base tecnológica no ambiente acadêmico. Assim, entende-se importante a ampliação do estudo para spinoffs de outros contextos (corporativos ou públicos). A pesquisa pôde contribuir com o enriquecimento e a ampliação da literatura sobre LPD, LSM e PPNT, além de auxílio ao processo de inovação tecnológica na universidade. / Universities and research centers began to play the role of capitalizing knowledge, fostering wealth generation and social development, characterizing themselves as entrepreneurial universities. However, to promote technological innovation in the academic environment, it is important to structure a Technological Business Planning Process (TBPP), whose composition is based on three pillars: (i) Technological Planning Process (TPP), that seeks to aid the incorporation of technology, (ii) the Technology Transfer Planning Process (TTPP), consisting of a structuring of all the phases that make up the process of transferring technology from universities to the market, and (iii) the Business Planning Process (BPP), that corresponds to the phases of business development. Together, these three processes comprise the Technological Business Planning Process (TBPP). The structuring of the processes of these businesses is immersed in several situations involving losses and wastes (for example: excessive waiting time, delay and rework during the development process, among others). This aspect leads us to a reflection on the need to adopt methods and tools (we will call this research as practices), guided by lean principles, especially for Lean Product Development (LPD) and Lean Startup Methodology (LSM). In order to respond to the proposed research problem, namely: “How do LPD and LSM practices contribute to PPNT in the academic environment?”, two general research objectives were defined: a) identify a set of LPD practices that contribute to the operation of the PPTec; b) to evaluate the contributions of LSM practices to the TPP, BPP and TTPP phases. In order to proceed with the research, this thesis was organized into four chapters with objectives and different methodological strategies: i) in chapter 1 using the methodological action research strategy was aimed at characterizing the business model of each technological project analyzed; ii) in chapter 2, through the multi-case study, the frequency with which the entrepreneur-researchers had experienced the waste categories and subcategories during the development of the three processes that integrate the TBPP, using the perspective of the LPD; iii) in chapter 3, based on the literature review, it was possible to identify LPD-related practices that can contribute to the reduction of waste experienced by project teams in different phases of the TPP process; iv) chapter 4, through literature review and later action research, had the objective of identifying the LSM practices that could contribute to mitigate the waste experienced by project teams in the different phases of TTPP and BPP. As a result of the research we have: 1) improvement and empirical validation of the model proposed by Reis, Ladeira and Fernandes (2015); 2) contribution to the theoretical framework on LPD, since it was possible to identify LPD practices capable of contributing to the operation of the TPP in its different phases; 3) contribution to the theoretical framework on LSM, since the LSM practices were able to contribute to the operationalization of TTPP and BPP, from a theoretical perspective. As a limitation of the research, we have not been confronted with the practices and wastes in the stage of ideation of the technology, in order to identify the contributions of the same to the initial stages of the business. In part this limitation was related to the specificities of the analyzed projects, since all had a version of its technological product. Another limitation is that the research was applied in only 9 technology-based projects in the academic environment. From this aspect it is important to expand the studies for spinoffs of corporate contexts or belonging to other programs and initiatives to encourage innovation. For the time being, this research was able to contribute to the enrichment and expansion of the literature on LPD, LSM and TBPP, as well as to present mechanisms to aid the process of technological innovation in the academic environment, and to have guided the development of the cases studied.

Empresas startup simbolizam o epicentro de narrativas sobre o capitalismo contemporâneo. Essas organizações enxutas, aceleradas através de capital de risco e articuladas por meio de uma lógica de eficácia especulativa passaram a representar o que existe de mais novo na paisagem empresarial. Iniciativas como essas emergem a partir de um pano de fundo de profunda reestruturação de dinâmicas produtivas relacionadas a regimes de acumulação flexível. O que significa ser um empreendedor na paisagem de negócios formada por empresas startup no Brasil? Essa é a pergunta que norteou o trabalho de pesquisa etnográfica que serve como base para essa tese, fruto de um trabalho de campo entre os anos de 2014 e 2017, no Brasil e no Reino Unido com jovens empreendedores e suas redes de investidores, consultores e experts ao longo do processo de concepção, estruturação e operação de suas empresas. Meu interesse é compreender o processo concreto através do qual alguém se torna um empreendedor dentro dessa paisagem específica de ação econômica, especialmente como a lógica startup se torna uma forma de ser e estar no mundo. / Start-up companies symbolize the epicenter of narratives about contemporary capitalism. These lean organizations, accelerated by venture capital and articulated through a logic of speculative effectiveness have come to represent the edge of business. Initiatives such as these take shape amidst profound changes related to the restructuring of productive forces under flexible accumulation regimes. What does it mean to be an entrepreneur in Brazil’s contemporary start-up ecossystem? This question guided the ethnographic research that serves as the basis for this thesis, conducted between Brazil and the United Kingdom during the years of 2014 and 2017 among young entrepreneurs and networks of investors, consultants and experts in the making of their own start-up companies. My interest is to understand the concrete process through which one becomes an entrepreneur within this particular landscape of economic action, especially how the startup mindset becomes embeded in their ways of being in the world.

Submitted by Milena Rubi (milenarubi@ufscar.br) on 2017-06-01T14:03:52Z No. of bitstreams: 1 LEONESSA_Nathalia_2016.pdf: 56993911 bytes, checksum: c3674f0762a44d85df19038a13d9f2d2 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Milena Rubi (milenarubi@ufscar.br) on 2017-06-01T14:14:25Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 LEONESSA_Nathalia_2016.pdf: 56993911 bytes, checksum: c3674f0762a44d85df19038a13d9f2d2 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Milena Rubi (milenarubi@ufscar.br) on 2017-06-01T14:14:33Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 LEONESSA_Nathalia_2016.pdf: 56993911 bytes, checksum: c3674f0762a44d85df19038a13d9f2d2 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-01T14:14:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 LEONESSA_Nathalia_2016.pdf: 56993911 bytes, checksum: c3674f0762a44d85df19038a13d9f2d2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-12-12 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / The methodologies currently used by startups for market discovery and software development focus on a more agile and fast development, aiming to obtain learning about the potential market. Often, these methodologies set aside good software development practices to make the process faster and more dynamic, with constant end-user participation. If, on the one hand, the use of methodologies such as Scrum and RUP for software development can result in the development of technological solutions that are not used by users due to the lack of participation in software construction, on the other hand, they bring many benefits when it comes to project management and software quality. In contrast, the opposite occurs to the methodologies and tools currently used by startups, such as Lean Startup, Customer Development, Thinking Design and Business Model Canvas. These methodologies and tools focus on the discovery and validation of the market, without concern for the final quality of the product developed for the client, impacting directly. This impact can also be a waste of time in developing a product that no one will be able to use because of the large number of failures or even it never be finalized due to management problems. The lack of concern for good management of a development project, and its final quality, can do as much damage as the lack of approximation with the potential client. Moreover, in an environment of extreme uncertainty, unknown variables should be reduced in order to achieve overall development success, not just business models. The use of good Software Engineering practices may allow obtaining more information and technical data about the solution developed, which directly impact the user. This information can be used as a basis for decision making, thereby reducing risks related to final product quality and project management, making it easier for potential customers to use, and leaner development. In this sense, this work proposes a software development methodology for startups, Startup Kaizen (SK). SK integrates good practices of methodologies such as RUP and Scrum with methodologies focused on validation and market discovery, such as Lean Startup, Customer Development, Thinking Design and Business Model Canvas. This union of good software engineering practices with market discovery aims to minimize the risk variables for the creation of a new company, whether related to market or management and software quality. After the creation of Startup Kaizen, a case study was performed with its application with graduate students in Computer Science at the Federal University of São Carlos in Sorocaba. This application allowed the data collection to analyze the results in the form of a case study. / As metodologias atualmente utilizadas por startups para descoberta de mercado e desenvolvimento de software focam no desenvolvimento mais ágil e rápido, visando a obtenção de aprendizado sobre o mercado de atuação. Muitas vezes, essas metodologias deixam de lado boas práticas de desenvolvimento de software para que ele seja realizado de forma mais dinâmica e rápida, com constante participação do usuário final. Se, por um lado, a utilização de metodologias ágeis como Scrum e metodologias mais tradicionais como RUP, para o desenvolvimento de software pode resultar no desenvolvimento de soluções tecnológicas que não são utilizadas pelos usuários por falta de uma constante participação deles na construção do software, por outro lado, elas trazem inúmeros benefícios quando se trata de gerenciamento de projeto e qualidade de software. Em contrapartida, o oposto ocorre para as metodologias e ferramentas atualmente utilizadas por startups, tais como Lean Startup, Customer Development, Design Thinking e Business Model Canvas. Essas metodologias e ferramentas focam na descoberta e validação de mercado, sem a preocupação com a qualidade final do produto desenvolvido para o cliente, impactando-o diretamente. Esse impacto pode também acarretar um desperdício de tempo no desenvolvimento de um produto que ninguém conseguirá utilizar, devido à grande quantidade de falhas, ou até que nunca será finalizado, devido a problemas de gerenciamento. A falta de preocupação com um bom gerenciamento de um projeto de desenvolvimento, e sua qualidade final, podem trazer tantos prejuízos quanto a falta de aproximação com o potencial cliente. Além disso, no ambiente de extrema incerteza, as variáveis de insegurança devem ser reduzidas ao máximo possível visando a obtenção de sucesso no desenvolvimento como todo, e não apenas em relação a modelos de negócios. A utilização de boas práticas de engenharia de software pode possibilitar a obtenção de mais informações e dados técnicos sobre a solução desenvolvida, que impactam diretamente o usuário. Essas informações podem ser utilizadas como base na tomada de decisão, diminuindo assim, os riscos relacionadas a qualidade final do produto e gerenciamento de projeto, facilitando a utilização por seus potenciais clientes, além de um desenvolvimento mais enxuto. Neste sentido, este trabalho propõe uma metodologia de desenvolvimento de software para startups, o Startup Kaizen (SK). O SK agrega boas práticas de metodologias como RUP e Scrum com metodologias com foco na validação e descoberta de mercado, como Lean Startup, Customer Development, Design Thinking e Business Model Canvas. Essa união de boas práticas de engenharia de software com a descoberta de mercado, tem como objetivo minimizar as variáveis de risco para a criação de uma nova empresa, sejam elas relacionadas a mercado ou gerenciamento e qualidade de software. Após a criação do Startup Kaizen, foi realizado um estudo de caso com sua aplicação com alunos de pós-graduação em Ciências da Computação da Universidade Federal de São Carlos em Sorocaba. Essa aplicação permitiu a coleta de dados para análise dos resultados na forma de estudo de caso. / 33001014

Empresas startup simbolizam o epicentro de narrativas sobre o capitalismo contemporâneo. Essas organizações enxutas, aceleradas através de capital de risco e articuladas por meio de uma lógica de eficácia especulativa passaram a representar o que existe de mais novo na paisagem empresarial. Iniciativas como essas emergem a partir de um pano de fundo de profunda reestruturação de dinâmicas produtivas relacionadas a regimes de acumulação flexível. O que significa ser um empreendedor na paisagem de negócios formada por empresas startup no Brasil? Essa é a pergunta que norteou o trabalho de pesquisa etnográfica que serve como base para essa tese, fruto de um trabalho de campo entre os anos de 2014 e 2017, no Brasil e no Reino Unido com jovens empreendedores e suas redes de investidores, consultores e experts ao longo do processo de concepção, estruturação e operação de suas empresas. Meu interesse é compreender o processo concreto através do qual alguém se torna um empreendedor dentro dessa paisagem específica de ação econômica, especialmente como a lógica startup se torna uma forma de ser e estar no mundo. / Start-up companies symbolize the epicenter of narratives about contemporary capitalism. These lean organizations, accelerated by venture capital and articulated through a logic of speculative effectiveness have come to represent the edge of business. Initiatives such as these take shape amidst profound changes related to the restructuring of productive forces under flexible accumulation regimes. What does it mean to be an entrepreneur in Brazil’s contemporary start-up ecossystem? This question guided the ethnographic research that serves as the basis for this thesis, conducted between Brazil and the United Kingdom during the years of 2014 and 2017 among young entrepreneurs and networks of investors, consultants and experts in the making of their own start-up companies. My interest is to understand the concrete process through which one becomes an entrepreneur within this particular landscape of economic action, especially how the startup mindset becomes embeded in their ways of being in the world.

Capitalization table (cap table) is a public ledger that tracks the equity ownership of a company’s shareholders. For start-up and non-public companies this information is usually stored in a spreadsheet but even after just a couple of investment rounds the cap table can become highly complex. A factor that further increases the complexity is the need for entrepreneurs and investors to use the data for analysis and calculations for future decision making. The purpose of the thesis has been to create a design hypotheses of a usable graphical user interface that allows shareholders to more clearly understand the ownership situation of the company and future scenario. To answer the research question a user-centered design approach along with a case study was applied. The case study was chosen and performed on a start-up that already offers a web service for better management of corporation documents so that real users could be part of the design process and so that their needs could be analysed. After three iterations, an end result (implemented in AngularJS and TypeScript) was obtained, which can be split into two equal parts. Firstly, a view containing a timeline of the company and its current ownership. The view can also be used to get a snapshot of the company’s ownership in a specific point in time and to simulate how future investment rounds could dilute the current shareholder’s ownership. Secondly, a view where users can simulate future exit scenarios and how much each shareholder will earn in an exit.

This research presents the results of a qualitative and quantitative investigation into what factors are present at time zero that increase the probability that a startup will achieve long term sustainability. Survival rates for startups in the United States (U.S.) are disappointingly low and economically inefficient. The data shows that the U.S. clearly lags its peer countries in the survival rates of startups. The U.S ranked an unacceptable 11th of 14 among its peer countries in first-year survival rates in recent years. Startup failure does not only impact the entrepreneur; it also impacts creditors, vendors, community stakeholders, and employees. While it is commonly acknowledged that entrepreneurial businesses contribute to economic growth, the influential impact survival can have on economic growth within the community is often understated. The economic impact of startups on the community makes this area of research even more vital. To avoid failure and improve the sustainability of startups requires an in-depth understanding of the factors that are causal and non-causal to sustainability. While there has been significant investment and support by communities, government, and private foundations, startup failure rates remain virtually unchanged in the last two decades. Despite the many years of research in the field of entrepreneurship, U.S. failure rates within the first five years’ average 53%, regardless of the industry membership or economic cycles. Identifying factors that are causal and non-causal to the sustainability of emerging businesses is crucial to the founders and stakeholders. Within this study, both internal and external factors that may be causal to the macro survival rate of U.S. startups were studied. The external factors were studied quantitatively, using data published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) and the Brookings Institute. A protocol of regression analysis and visual analytics were applied to evaluate the quantitative data. It demonstrated that external factors such as the change in real gross domestic product (RGDP), interest rates, and expansion of accelerators have had no significant effect on U.S. macro startup survival rates. Further, the findings confirm that neither geographic location nor industry membership impacted U.S. macro startup survival rates. Internal factors were studied qualitatively, using a grounded theory protocol. The qualitative research did uncover three internal factors that were causal to survival of the startups studied. Those internal factors were:  Career Autonomy – The entrepreneurs motivated by career autonomy were significantly more likely to achieve long-term sustainability.  Allies – The entrepreneurs who identify and utilized allies were more likely to survive.  Purposeful Margin of Safety model – Startups whose founders had a rigorous understanding of the margin of safety (MOS) and its underlying elements of pricing and break-even analysis were more likely to survive. This qualitative study provides significant evidence that, when these three causal factors are present, the likelihood of sustainability is high. These findings extend our knowledge on how to improve the probability of sustainability for the firms. This study demonstrates that the U.S. can and should improve its startup survival rates by focusing on the internal factors that are necessary at time zero to ensure sustainability and survival.

This thesis objectively assess the economic viability of the newly established startup that aims to become the leading expert on the domestic market in the field of consulting cryptocurrency issues. The aim of this work is to build a business plan, which also includes marketing research, together with the financial plan. An introductory part contains of theoretical framework of the cryptocurrency issues with an analysis of the economic impact on the Czech market. The theoretical part of the thesis is enriched with the necessary methodological basics for writing the business plan. In the practical part of this thesis is to find a business plan aimed at assessing the business model of the startup conducting the methods for the analysis of demand and by analyzing of market potential.

The main objective was to create a normative model of determining the value of early stage for companies in the seed and start up stage. The model should be applicable to entrepreneurs and investors, taking into account the assessment of the value of qualitative factors. Another aim was to identify the significant factors affecting the value of early stage companies in the seed and start up stage, i.e. at a time when there are no or very little revenues. Based on a research among investors and other experts on the valuation of early stage companies and venture capital, the most significant factors were not only identified, but also determined by their weight. The quality of evaluating investment opportunities has a major impact on the profitability of the investor´s capital. Current knowledge of the key value drivers and the mechanisms of valuation can help businesses to set realistic expectations when trying to raise capital to finance the startup of the project. It is therefore necessary to provide a clear methodological framework applicable to both parties of investing. The actual research was divided into two phases - individual interviews with investors and questionnaires. It was confirmed that the most crucial factors are those associated with quality management and company founders.

This thesis is dedicated to theoretical solutions and practical application of valuation methods used for evaluation of young startup companies. The aim of this work is to provide readers with theoretical introduction into the startup scene, conceivable valuation approaches and their practical application on the startup followed by drawing conclusions and recommendations. The thesis is divided into theoretical and practical part. The first part deals with the theoretical foundations of startups, the analysis of the Czech startup scene and possible arguments for valuing startups. The thesis discusses the specific characteristics of startups and their impact on the valuation process. The theoretical part is concluded by an analysis of the theoretical methods for the startup value estimation. In the practical section, selected valuation methods are applied on a particular startup company operating in the Czech Republic. Finally, the practical part summarizes the problems and specifics that arise during the valuation process followed by recommendations for valuation practice.

Automated start–up and shutdown procedures increase the profitability and safety of a process, but are difficult to implement due to the complex nature of the concepts that must be incorporated. Generic components used specifically for the implementation of automated startup and shutdown procedures were defined to streamline the implementation process. The generic components developed are based on Sequential Function Charts and were applied to the startup of a fixed–bed gasification unit, for which a dynamic simulation model was developed. The application showed that the automated startup can be defined by a few generic components and that the flexibility of the startup procedure is increased through the incorporation of a fault accommodation module. The use of a visual–based definition of sequential processes increases the understanding of the complex scheduling procedures as well as the efficiency of the development of these automated procedures. In addition, iterative learning was incorporated into the generic definition to optimise controller performance during the non–linear phases of operation. / Dissertation (MEng (Control Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Chemical Engineering / MEng / Unrestricted