What lies behind the success of a young company?  “Determinants of success. Global research on personality traits of startup CEOs” - first edition of a project supported by the infoShare Foundation has started

Are there any common features of startup CEOs? Can we identify universal competencies that drive the company’s development? Do those deciding to start their own businesses share common values? A research project by students of the SWPS University and the infoShare Foundation is to bring answers to these questions.

THE NEED TO DEFINE STARTUP ENVIRONMENT 

The questionnaire of this global project is directed at startup CEOs, regardless of the company stage. The goal is to create a profile of those who are not only innovative but are also able to respond to market needs and challenges, while successfully building their businesses.
 
The project aims to identify the key and universal competencies that are worth developing and strengthening. The findings will be interesting both for the business profi and amateur – for those who want to know more about soft skills that are necessary for a successful launch.
 
Teachers will also benefit as they learn what skills teenagers should develop, so they feel empowered and in control as they start out in life.
 
People that create a startup are definitely the company’s biggest value - their competencies, attitudes, self-esteem, values that influence their behaviours. Does who they are and how they act help them achieve success? I believe that this project will be a source of guidance in our self-development efforts, telling us what we should work on to increase the chances for success in our business endeavours – says Jola Kania, the co-author of the report “Determinants of success. Global research on personality traits of startup CEOs”.
 
The people behind this project are:

Ola Trapp –  currently Head of Culture and Trends at Infuture Hatalska Forsight Institiute, co-author of numerous reports about the future of work and digital nomads.
Jola Kania – combines an engineering and psychological education underlining the key role of future-oriented soft skills both in everyday life and business.

THE INFOSHARE FOUNDATION A PARTNER IN RESEARCH

Research is done under the auspices of the infoShare Foundation, who is supervising the study. InfoShare is the organizer of the biggest tech conference in CEE. Each year the Gdańsk-based conference is visited by those highly involved in the startup scene – company owners, VC, investors and corporate representatives looking for innovations.
 
Exploring the startup environment is our natural need and a step towards further growth. We’re highly intrigued by the research done by SPWS and we’re looking forward to their findings on whether specific CEO character traits play a role in a startup’s future success. It is with great pleasure that we support this project and await its end results with curiosity – says Grzegorz Borowski, infoShare CEO.
 
The questionnaires are on the infoShare webpage, available in two languages till 20.01.2019. CEOs who decide to participate will receive a detailed report with expert commentary. Research findings will be published in spring 2019.