Entrepreneurial system: Application to Silicon Valley nanotechnology companies

This paper applies the soft systems methodology to establish the concept of an entrepreneurial system (ES). The main objectives of the paper are: (1) to establish the concept of the ES, (2) to apply this concept to the nanotechnology entrepreneurial system (NES) and (3) to identify the opportunities and risks for a nanotechnology startup company in Silicon Valley (SVNES). Specific goals in analyzing the SVNES are: identify a set of relationships to describe the interaction among subsystems; identify special characteristics of managing a nanotechnology startup company; identify critical factors that affect the successful creation and performance of a nanotechnology startup company; provide recommendations to overcome problems and to facilitate the process of creating a successful nanotechnology company. This NES research is focused on: (1) the relationships between start-up companies and customers, (2) the relationships between start-up companies and financial sources, and (3) the relationships between start-up companies and R&D centers. Relationships with competitors are described. The remaining NES components are briefly described but not addressed in depth, as they are outside of the scope of this paper. Each of these relationships is analyzed in terms of its impacts on other NES components.