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📌 Key facts
⏱️ When: Start date is flexible! Applications are open!
📥 How to apply: Send us an e-mail (at the end of this page) with your CV and grade report
- 📌 Key facts
- 💡 Background
- 🎯 Goals
- 🦾 Who We Are
- 🧠 Topics of Interest
- 🎓 Profile
- 📚 Further Reading
- 📝 How to Apply
💡 Background
Unicorns, defined as privately held startups valued at over $1 billion, represent a unique phenomenon within the entrepreneurial ecosystem. These startups have become a focal point of economic and academic discourse due to their potential to drive innovation and transform industries.
Unicorns are characterized by their reliance on strategic geographical ecosystems, robust venture capital support, and innovative business models. Research highlights the clustering of unicorns in key hubs, driven by access to talent, funding, and market opportunities (Bock & Hackober, 2020). Funding is a critical determinant of unicorn success, as studies indicate that unicorns secure substantial capital through later-stage funding rounds. These rounds not only provide the resources needed for scaling but also signal credibility to stakeholders (Bock & Hackober, 2020). The characteristics of unicorn founders also play a significant role in achieving success. Founder´s human capital enhances startup success by providing founders with essential skills, knowledge, and experience, which improve decision-making, adaptability, and resource acquisition, particularly in challenging or uncertain conditions (Gruber et al., 2024 & Ko and McKelvie, 2018). Founders’ prior entrepreneurial experience and networks significantly contribute to the growth trajectories of these startups (Stafeev, 2024).
However, current research predominantly focuses on the United States as an entrepreneurial ecosystem. This study shifts the focus to Europe, exploring it as a startup ecosystem to generate insights for research and practical recommendations that can influence the entrepreneurship ecosystem. Specifically, this study aims to analyze the characteristics of European unicorns to better understand what drives startup success.
🎯 Goals
This study aims to:
- Analyze the geographical distribution and clustering of European unicorns
- Examine the role of venture capital, funding patterns, and investor characteristics in the success of European unicorns
- Investigate the backgrounds and characteristics of unicorn founders, including educational and professional attributes
- Assess the timing and market conditions that contribute to the emergence of unicorns in Europe
🦾 Who We Are
The Chair for Strategy and Organization is focused on research with impact. This means we do not want to repeat old ideas and base our research solely on the research people did 10 years ago. Instead, we currently research topics that will shape the future. Topics include Agile Organizations and Digital Disruption, Blockchain Technology, Creativity and Innovation, Digital Transformation and Business Model Innovation, Diversity, Education: Education Technology and Performance Management, HRTech, Leadership, and Teams. We are always early in noticing trends, technologies, strategies, and organizations that shape the future, which has its ups and downs.
🧠 Topics of Interest
- Unicorn characteristics
- Entrepreneurial ecosystems in Europe
- Founder human capital and their influence on startup success
- Role of venture capital
🎓 Profile
- Your work is super accurate. There is no room for 80/20, thus your academic track record is excellent
- Reliable, self-driven working style and proactive communication
- Analytical thinking and statistical knowledge
- Interest in entrepreneurship and startup ecosystems
📚 Further Reading
- Bock, C., & Hackober, C. (2020). Unicorns—What drives multibillion-dollar valuations? Business Research, 13(3), 949–984. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40685-020-00120-2
- Giardino, P. L., Delladio, S., Baiocco, S., & Caputo, A. (2023). Beyond myth: A systematic literature review on the emergence of unicorn firms. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 30(6), 1156–1177. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSBED-02-2023-0067
- Gruber, M., Dencker, J. C., & Nikiforou, A. (Iro). (2024). How Founder Human Capital and Founding Conditions Shape New Firm Performance: A Study of Necessity Entrepreneurship during Times of Economic Crisis. Academy of Management Journal, 67(2), 382–406. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2022.0405
- Ko, E.-J., & McKelvie, A. (2018). Signaling for more money: The roles of founders’ human capital and investor prominence in resource acquisition across different stages of firm development. Journal of Business Venturing, 33(4), 438–454. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2018.03.001
- Stafeev, A. (2024). WHAT MAKES A SUCCESSFUL UNICORN STARTUP FOUNDER? EXPLORING FOUNDERS’ BACKGROUNDS. International Journal of Professional Business Review, 9(5), e04638. https://doi.org/10.26668/businessreview/2024.v9i5.4638
- Strebulaev, I. (2024). What It Takes to Build a Unicorn. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ilyavcandpe_unicorn-report-preview-activity-7257028504356061186-Ze4-?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
📝 How to Apply
If you are interested, please contact Jannik Nolden by submitting 1) your desired starting date, 2) CV, 3) grade report and 4) a short motivation letter why you are interested in this topic and how you are a good fit for it.
Jannik Nolden (Chair for Strategy and Organization) 👉 jannik.nolden@tum.de