The youth startup as a category of innovative entrepreneurship: concept, criteria, and ecosystem support model
Keywords:
startup, youth startup, youth entrepreneurship, startup ecosystem, venture capital fund, innovation activityAbstract
This article aims to improve the theoretical and institutional foundations for the formation of a youth startup ecosystem in the context of the economy of the Republic of Belarus.
Materials and Methods. This study employs materials and methods aimed at defining the nature of a youth startup and identifying its key features. The article presents a systemic analysis, a comparative approach, and a content analysis of startup ecosystem elements.
Results. Using a comparative analysis of the concepts «startup», «youth startup» and «youth entrepreneurship», this article reveals their essential differences according to the following criteria: founder age, motivation, sources of financing, risk tolerance, the role of education and mentors, legal form, and area of activity. The study finds that the key characteristics of youth startups are the combination of entrepreneurial activity with the educational process, increased risk tolerance, the effect of «digital socialization», limited access to bank credit, and legal barriers facing underage founders. The article identifies the need to develop specialized statistical reporting on youth startups (separate from general small and medium enterprise indicators) and to establish «youth startup» as an independent category for the purpose of designing targeted state support measures. In response, a three‑level system of interaction among the elements of the startup ecosystem is proposed.
Conclusion. The proposed three‑level interaction model – encompassing a school, a university, and a corporate venture capital fund as its key actors – integrates and systematizes efforts to foster the youth startup movement. This model establishes conditions for the continuity of startup competence development stages and offers a clear vision of the growth trajectories of youth startup projects.
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