“The company I keep is not corporate enough”: exploring the specificities of University startups

Abstract If universities produce the best scientific research, should university startups produce the best entrepreneurs? The answer is no, when looking at the empirical evidence, and also (as done here) when considering the matter from a theoretical angle. This paper compares University Startup Entrepreneurs (USEs) with Corporate Startup Entrepreneurs (CSEs) using a variety of theoretical lenses. Our theoretical analysis highlights that USEs are incentivised towards being opportunity entrepreneurs, while CSEs are incentivised towards being lifestyle entrepreneurs. USEs have to overcome a profound transition from a scientific identity to a profit-seeking identity, which puts them at a disadvantage compared to CSEs. USEs are also further from their customers when compared to CSEs (and a fortiori, when compared to user startups), but this disadvantage is not considered to be insurmountable because experimenting with the market and learning from users should not be beyond the reach of diligent USEs.