A new relational business model for start-ups. evidences from Italian context

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the main drivers of a start-up evolution in its development stages. In particular, our attention is focused on the role of relationships in the different evolutionary phases of a start-up. The entrepreneur’s perspective has been for long considered the critical success factor for the start-up genesis and evolution. Differently from previous works focused on entrepreneur and entrepreneurial ability to manage social relationships, this paper investigates the perspective of business relationships in different stages of start-up life cycle. The paper presents an in depth qualitative analysis based on two innovative Italian start-ups. The findings show the emergence of interconnected relationships that allow a start up to access to different kind of resources in order to develop its business. This process of evolution requires a network embedded approach that suggests start-ups to consider users’ needs and preferences, as well as the relevant role of different business partners.