NASCENT NETWORKS IN EMBRYONIC FIRMS: FACTORS INFLUENCING NETWORK DEVELOPMENT AND SUCCESS (SUMMARY)
NA SCENT NET WORKS IN EMBRYONIC FIRMS: FACTORS INFLUENCING NET WORK DEVELOPMENT AND SUCCESS (SUMMARY)
Mujtaba Ahsan 0 1 2
Alex F. DeNoble 0 1 2
San Diego State University, USA
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1 San Diego State University , USA
2 CONTACT: Mujtaba Ahsan
Recommended Citation Ahsan, Mujtaba; DeNoble, Alex F.; Musteen, Martina; and Zheng, Congcong (2015) "NASCENT NETWORKS IN EMBRYONIC FIRMS: FACTORS INFLUENCING NETWORK DEVELOPMENT AND SUCCESS (SUMMARY)," Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research: Vol. 35 : Iss. 6 , Article 8. Available at: http://digitalknowledge.babson.edu/fer/vol35/iss6/8
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Article 8
Ahsan et al.: NASCENT NETWORKS IN EMBRYONIC FIRMS
NET WORKING
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S U M M A RY
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NASCENT NETWORKS IN EMBRYONIC FIRMS: FACTORS
INFLUENCING NETWORK DEVELOPMENT AND SUCCESS
Mujtaba Ahsan, San Diego State University, USA
Alex F. DeNoble, San Diego State University, USA
Martina Musteen, San Diego State University, USA
Congcong Zheng, San Diego State University, USA
Principal Topic
Like many novice entrepreneurs, student entrepreneurs starting their own ventures for the first time
face many challenges such as lack of knowledge about the industry, market, and technology and
also lack of confidence. These hurdles have been often collectively called liabilities of newness and
smallness. To overcome these deficiencies young startups seek the support of university incubators,
other entrepreneurs, professors, industry experts etc. The extent of support that they receive can have
a significant impact on their evolution, success and ultimate survival.
Method
We have designed a qualitative study that aims at gaining a better, richer insight into the role
of mentors in the initial stages of young ventures. Specifically, we sought to better understand the
emergence and evolution of initial mentoring relationships in embryonic startup teams. We performed
six in-depth interviews with founders/co-founders of teams associated with a university incubator
which we then analyzed in several phases. The six teams varied in terms of industry focus and were in
various stages of development.
Results and Implications
Our findings suggest that entrepreneurs in the initial stages of venture development rely heavily
on mentors that they knew from their previous life as well as those assigned to them formally by the
incubator. The mentors’ backgrounds vary widely from being fellow students with significant industry/
sector experience, to personal friends or family members to seasoned entrepreneurs and executives.
The strategy for using such mentors also vary on a continuum from being very personal and used for
emotional support and confidence building to accessing highly technical knowledge in the areas of
marketing and product development. The number of mentors that the entrepreneurs we interviewed also
varied widely from relying heavily on a single mentor to having a broad range of mentoring relationships.
The size of the mentoring network also broadly correlates with the strategy/mode of interaction with
the mentors. Entrepreneurs with fewer or single mentors seemed to have more in-depth, emotionally
charged relationships in which information is exchanged in a fluid, consistent manner. Their meetings
were often more regular, longer and over longer periods of time. The meetings with their mentors
often occurred without specific issue to be discussed. In contrast, entrepreneurs on the other side
of the continuum seemed to have interacted with mentors in a more “on-demand” mode where they
would call on the mentors when the need arose. Mentors were also sought out specifically to “fill in” in
an information need that arose as the venture developed. Interestingly, many of the entrepreneurs we
interviewed have acknowledged that mentors sometimes provided them with information that helped
them identify areas of lack of knowledge or blind spots that they were not aware of. In all cases, mentors
were perceived as indispensable sources of knowledge and support instrumental to positive progress of
the venture. The findings of this research study enables us to better understand the drivers of network
formation and development, and consequently give us insights on how they can be leveraged by young
aspiring entrepreneurs. (...truncated)