Educating product based start-ups: Focusing on the business or the product?

A product-based start-up will need to both develop their product as well as their business model to succeed. However, as a start-up typically only has limited resources, they often tend to focus on either the business or product side. While it is commonly acknowledged that both the business and the product need to be for a product-based start-up to succeed, we however find many educational programmes drive start-ups to refocus on the business aspects. In this article we study the different challenges that occur when starting a start-up focus on the business or product respectively. We map the process and the challenges of product and business-based start-ups, to understand common obstacles, tendencies and solution strategies. Through case studies of 7 start-ups that went through business focused start-up programmes we find, how business focused start-up programmes, help and forces product focused firms, to develop and take business aspects into account. Opposite we also identify, while developing, the product is central for a product-based start-up, we however find these aspects do not receive the same attention in educational programmes for start-ups, and how business based firms are left on their own. We suggest educational programmes for start-ups to take the focus of the start-up in mind, so they may assist with complementary knowledge on either business or product aspects.