💡 Background and Open Topics
In Q2 2022 alone, over 700 startups were launched in Germany (Statista, 2022). Most of these startups were founded by teams rather than individuals. While team-based startups benefit from diverse experiences, they also face a higher risk of conflict, which can lead to team members leaving (Howarth, 2022).
To better understand what drives startup team success, we are conducting a large-scale longitudinal study on predicting startup outcomes. After recruiting cofounding teams, we use online surveys and an on-site study to analyze founders' behaviors, including video recordings and physiological measures such as EDA. This study is called the “The Gottman Initiative” — have a look at our webpage to find out more!
- Topic: Co-Founder Breakups – Understanding the Reasons Behind Founder Departures (Applications accepted, please reach out to Christian Wimmer) Why do co-founders part ways? While 40% of startups fail within the first year, 60% break apart because of internal team conflicts. We have access to a unique dataset of over 200 real founding teams, more than 20 of which have already split. Over half of these splits were due to conflicts within the founding team. This thesis offers the opportunity to explore the underlying reasons behind these departures through a qualitative research approach. The selected student will conduct interviews and analyze existing data to identify patterns and causes of co-founder breakups. The goal is to better understand what drives conflict in early-stage ventures and how it ultimately leads to team dissolution.
This is an ideal topic for students interested in entrepreneurship, team dynamics, and qualitative research methods.
🦾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 such as Agile Organisations 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 organisations that shape the future, which has its ups and downs.
🎓 Your Role and Profile
- Your role will be to interview the startups that have split due to conflict wihtin the founding team and get to the bottom of co-founder depatures in new venture teams
- Your profile
- Organizational skills and proactive communication.
- Reliable and self-driven working style.
- Since the startups are all German, fluent German language skills are mandatory.
- Previous experience or interest in qualitative research methods is a plus.
📝 How to Apply
- Please send your complete application documents (CV, Transcript of Records) in one pdf file to christian.wimmer@tum.de
- Start date: please indicate your preferred start date in your application
Please note: Please don’t use ChatGPT within your application. Please write briefly and precisely, as you will do in your thesis.
📬 Contact
After reading the thesis description, you still have questions? Feel free to contact me 