Operational functions for innovative startups in France

• Ano de defesa: 2016
• Autor(a) principal: Dahan, Alexandre Jacob
• Orientador(a): Prado Júnior, Sérvio Túlio
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Tipo de acesso: Acesso aberto
• Idioma: eng
• Palavras-chave em Português: Funções; Capital
• Palavras-chave em Inglês: Startup
• Link de acesso: http://hdl.handle.net/10438/15955

This thesis will try to understand the importance of operational functions in French startups.A huge flexibility in tasks to be covered and a horizontal management characterize startups. Thus, it is very uncommon for newly created companies like startups to have a clear human resources management policy. Indeed, every partner or people in the startup may be brought to think about very large issues such as sales, business development, commercialization, marketing and technology or product development. This thesis will not scrutinize each task or the time spent at working in each of these tasks. It will rather look for the perception of the allocation preferences regarding each key function of the newly company. Whatever the sector in consideration or the startup stage of maturity, key functions that are perceived to make the startup successful are research & development and commercialisation. Managerial functions are not the most important ones. Technologyoriented startups consider the 'CEO function' as key whereas services startups do not put so much importance in it. Serial entrepreneurs might put more attention to marketing and fundraising functions rather than management function. Indeed, as experienced entrepreneurs, they also anticipate middle-term issues. Finally, entrepreneurs often have a bias regarding their academic background because they overestimate functions they think they can do compared to functions they are able to do. This thesis will try to show the link between operational functions exercised by a partner and the shares he owns in the startup. This link depends on the number of partners (known as shareholders), the type of partners (principal shareholders or secondary shareholders) and the impact of corporate governance regarding equity distribution. This work will lead to quantify and measure the importance of each basic function in newly created companies. In the end, it appears that partners’ responsibilities can explain equity distribution even if this criterion is not unique and sufficient enough. Indeed, functions’ importance is only one of the factors explaining equity distribution. Entrepreneurs perceive R&D and commercialization as Moreover, the thesis has also pointed out some limits (non-operational partners are neglected and assuming linearity of equity distribution based on functions’ respective weight might not be the best approach)