Search results for "start"
showing 10 items of 361 documents
Students’ self-reported learning outcomes after a business start-up education program
2019
The aim of the present study is to examine the breadth of influence of a business plan-based entrepreneurship education. This task is implemented by examining students’ (n = 227) self-reported learning outcomes concerning entrepreneurial skills, attitudes and abilities after education. In addition to proposing a classification of the self-reported learning outcomes, this study explores how these outcomes are related to the background characteristics of those taking part in an education program, and of the companies involved. Based on this study, four main areas of self-reported learning outcomes were found: (i) working-life key skills, (ii) management skills, (iii) entrepreneurial empowerme…
The role of fouling mechanisms in a membrane bioreactor.
2007
The present study has aimed to quantify the role of pore blocking and cake layer in a laboratory scale hollow fibre membrane module in submerged configuration. The membrane reactor (MBR) was fed with raw wastewater, only screened with a 2-mm sieve, collected from the Palermo WWTP. The MBR was characterised by an operating volume of 190 L and equipped with an aeration system located on the bottom of the reactor. The MBR operated for 65 days. The permeate was extracted by imposing a constant flux through the membrane (21 Lh−1m−2). The results confirm the importance of pore blocking control during start-up. In particular, it provides a rapid irreversible fouling that takes place at the beginni…
Respirometry for the Characterization of Heterotrophic Biomass Activity: Application to a MBR Pilot Plant Operated with Two Different Start-Up Strate…
2016
A membrane bioreactor (MBR) pilot plant was operated in two subsequent experimental periods (namely, Periods I and II) with different start-up and sludge withdrawal strategies to study its peculiar biokinetic behavior by using respirometric techniques. Two extreme operational conditions were chosen to investigate the different biomass activity under dynamic or pseudostationary conditions during and after the start-up phases. Particularly, the MBR pilot plant was operated with the same volumetric loading rate (VLR) and permeate flux but differently managed during the start-up phase. In Period I, the MBR pilot plant was started up without sludge inoculum and operated without sludge withdrawal…
Effect of red wine soaking on the microbiological profile, total phenolic content and sensory aspects of an ovine pressed cheese
2022
The aim of this study was to produce an ovine pressed cheese with high polyphenol content. To this purpose, fresh Primosale Pecorino cheese was soaked for seven days in Nero d’Avola wine (NDW) and was indicated as experimental cheese production (EP). The final cheese was characterized for its microbiological, chemical and sensory characteristics. Specifically, cheese making was performed with pasteurized ewes’ milk and a commercial starter culture. Control cheese production (CP) did not include the soaking phase in NDW. Plate counts confirmed the dominance of the commercial starter until 109 CFU/g in both CP and EP cheeses. The soaking in NDW increased cheese total phenolic compounds (TPC) …
Software Startup Practices -- Software Development in Startups through the Lens of the Essence Theory of Software Engineering
2020
Software startups continue to be important drivers of economy globally. As the initial investment required to found a new software company becomes smaller and smaller resulting from technological advances such as cloud technology, increasing numbers of new software startups are born. Typically, the main argument for studying software startups is that they differ from mature software organizations in various ways, thus making the findings of many existing studies not directly applicable to them. How, exactly, software startups really differ from other types of software organizations as an on-going debate. In this paper, we seek to better understand how software startups differ from mature so…
Amidst Uncertainty–or Not? : Decision-Making in Early-Stage Software Startups
2019
It is commonly claimed that the initial stages of any startup business are dominated by continuous, extended uncertainty, in an environment that has even been described as chaotic. Consequently, decisions are made in uncertain circumstances, so making the right decision is crucial to successful business. However, little currently exists in the way of empirical studies into this supposed uncertainty. In this paper, we study decision-making in early-stage software startups by means of a single, in-depth case study. Based on our data, we argue that software startups do not work in a chaotic environment, nor are they characterized by unique uncertainty unlike that experienced by other firms. pe…
The entrepreneurial logic of startup software development : A study of 40 software startups
2021
Context: Software startups are an essential source of innovation and software-intensive products. The need to understand product development in startups and to provide relevant support are highlighted in software research. While state-of-the-art literature reveals how startups develop their software, the reasons why they adopt these activities are underexplored. Objective: This study investigates the tactics behind software engineering (SE) activities by analyzing key engineering events during startup journeys. We explore how entrepreneurial mindsets may be associated with SE knowledge areas and with each startup case. Method: Our theoretical foundation is based on causation and effectuatio…
100+ Metrics for Software Startups : A Multi-Vocal Literature Review
2019
Metrics can be used by businesses to make more objective decisions based on data. Software startups in particular are characterized by the uncertain or even chaotic nature of the contexts in which they operate. Using data in the form of metrics can help software startups to make the right decisions amidst uncertainty and limited resources. However, whereas conventional business metrics and software metrics have been studied in the past, metrics in the spe-cific context of software startup are not widely covered within academic literature. To promote research in this area and to create a starting point for it, we have conducted a multi-vocal literature review focusing on practitioner literat…
Lean Internal Startups for Software Product Innovation in Large Companies: Enablers and Inhibitors
2018
Context: Startups are disrupting traditional markets and replacing well-established actors with their innovative products.To compete in this age of disruption, large and established companies cannot rely on traditional ways of advancement, which focus on cost efficiency, lead time reduction and quality improvement. Corporate management is now looking for possibilities to innovate like startups. Along with it, the awareness and the use of the Lean startup approach have grown rapidly amongst the software startup community and large companies in recent years. Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate how Lean internal startup facilitates software product innovation in large companies.…
Software startup education: gamifying growth hacking
2021
Startups seek to create highly scalable business models. For startups, growth is thus vital. Growth hacking is a marketing strategy advocated by various startup practitioner experts. It focuses on using low cost practices while utilizing existing platforms in creative ways to gain more users for the service. Though topics related to growth hacking such as marketing on a general level have been extensively studied in the past, growth hacking as a practitioner-born topic has not seen much interest among the academia. To both spark interest in growth hacking, and to facilitate teaching growth hacking in the academia, we present two board games intended to serve as an engaging introduction to g…