Great companies are hardly ever build by a single person – working together is key to success. Core to that success is finding a team that is complementary to each other, so all key skills that are required to build a company, are covered.

1. One way to do this is to think about who benefits from the implementation of research outcomes. What is required to implement suggested solutions/recommendations and who would potentially be willing to pay for that implementation. Not all research is suited for a commercial application, but for the vast majority of research an impact / commercial exploration seems logical.


2. Another way is to look at how you interact with practice as a researcher and then see if you can develop your idea further in any of those areas:

• • Research to improve an existing situation;
  • Using research results for application in other contexts;
  • Collaboration with field of practice for development and testing;
  • Intervening in an existing situation.

RSM does great research on this; the Department of Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship does research into this by analyzing key success factors, pitfalls, company structures, founder backgrounds etc. See more here!

We have seen many researchers that remain a researcher when building a business. The biggest challenge is to, at some point, accept the unknowns, and start validating in a pragmatic manner. Endlessly researching a certain topic, without putting a service/product out there in the real world means missing out on key customer feedback you need to refine your value proposition.

A second area of attention is bringing structure to the company at some point – especially when talking to investors. An investor not only looks at the product/service, but also looks at the execution power of the team and company – being well-organized pays off.

• Sometimes a business can be started without any resources, sometimes getting resources take a small investment.
  Tip: Erasmus Enterprise offers Startup Vouchers to support students and academics cover some of these costs (e.g office rental, material cost etc). Reach out to Bas for more info at vandernoll@eur.nl!
• Basics when running a business are of course: tracking cost, tracking revenue, track payable taxes and other obligations.
• In preparing to launch a company: think of when you actually need to incorporate the business; many initiatives that are still validating their idea, do not need an incorporation yet. Incorporation is typically only required when you have revenue or you are about to receive investment.

At the EUR you can start an academic venture in a pre-phase to incorporation. ERBS can deliver support to some of the admin tasks, without you needing to incorporate. Ask Laurien or Bas for more info.

Discover firsthand insights from Dries Dederen, the founder of BIKEBAZE, as he recounts his entrepreneurial journey and the pivotal support provided by the Startup Voucher program. Click here to read his experience and gain valuable knowledge on how this initiative contributed to his entrepreneurial journey.