Leadership in High-Growth, Venture Capital-Funded Startups – A Qualitative Study of Berlin-Based Firms

Abstract

The importance of leadership in the success of startups is widely recognized. Our study focuses on high-growth startups, which are venture capital (VC)-financed. So far, there is insufficient understanding, which leadership style founders and leaders of these startups deploy. Based on a Grounded Theory approach we derive a leadership framework from interviews with founder CEOs in Germany’s major startup city, Berlin. Our findings suggest that founder CEOs in high-growth, VC-funded startups heavily emphasize employee motivation, personnel development, performance orientation, and growth achievement in their leadership behavior. While our findings relate to a very specific and extreme type of firms, we propose that they are relevant for all kinds of companies as a pattern of a somewhat idealized leadership environment in relentless pursuit of innovation and growth.

Citation

Hamam, M. and Tomenendal, M. (2022), "Leadership in High-Growth, Venture Capital-Funded Startups – A Qualitative Study of Berlin-Based Firms", Becker-Ritterspach, F., Dörrenbächer, C. and Tomenendal, M. (Ed.) The Promises and Properties of Rapidly Growing Companies: Gazelles, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 59-75. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80117-818-120221004