Exploring the process of early product development stage : a comparison between Finland and Netherlands startups

Abstract

Year over year more startups are created. Similar to any business, startups thrive to create products or services that are favored by the customers. This thesis explores the early-stage product development process of startups, specifically focusing on the problem-solution phase. Through conducted semi-structured interviews with startup founders from Finland and the Netherlands, the study explores how startups conceptualize their initial ideas, address unclear assumptions regarding the problem-solution fit, and how these approaches differ across the aforementioned two countries. The research observed two key approach within startups: embracing the assumption-validation phase and ignoring it. Results suggest that entrepreneurs in the Netherlands tend to prioritize the idea-conceptualization phase, often found ideas within their domain expertise, while Finnish entrepreneurs are more likely to experiment with external ideas. This study provides insights into the importance of validating assumptions early in the product development process and offer recommendations for entrepreneurs, mentors, incubator programs to better support the idea conceptualization phase for startups. The research presents opportunities for future research in the field.