Triggers of business success of IT startup owners in Russia

Abstract

Startups in Russia have a very low survival rate. The main sources of failure are financial and managerial mistakes, as well as the influence of external factors. The purpose of this study was to find out what are the triggers of business success for startups that have passed acceleration programs and survived for 3 years since their launch. We present the results of the case study, which were realized through a qualitative methodology framework. The target population of the study was three owners of startups that participated in acceleration programs and whose startups continued to generate income. The startups researched were located in three cities of Russia: Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Tomsk. We relied on Raheem and Akhuemonkhan's theory of enterprise development as the conceptual framework of our study. Data collection included semi-structured interviews, review and analysis of company documents, reflective journal entries, and direct observation of the business processes in the startups. We analyzed the data using Yin's five-step data analysis process. Data analysis revealed four important themes: the evolution of the entrepreneur, sales strategy, the impact of the acceleration program, and recommendations for accelerators and incubators. Interpretation of the research results can contribute to the survivability of startups in Russia, as well as the development of new successful experiences among entrepreneurs. For those people who are intending to start a business, this research outlines the skills that are necessary to launch a startup.