The Exploration of the Entrepreneurial Process Within the Online Retail Industry

Abstract

This master thesis is written in the style of autoethnography, and aims to investigate the startup process of “UnitedSizes”. The entrepreneurial process consists of 103 activities, which helped the development of “UnitedSizes”. Theoretical concepts were systematically analyzed in combination with the conducted activities to establish its usefulness and relevance to the reality of starting a business. The analyses show that the theories of social construction, lean startup methodology and the business model canvas are valuable tools for entrepreneurs, when creating a new venture. Social construction shows the major impacts that a variety of factors can have on the development process. The business Model Canvas can be used as a theoretical framework that can be a good tool in the early development process, and can lessen the risk and uncertainty in the process. The lean startup methodology helps in making the entrepreneurial process more iterative and creative especially in the early development process. Furthermore, the analysis will illustrate that there is a deviation between theory and practice, and the outcomes of this.
The last chapter will contain recommendations for future entrepreneurs based on personal insights and learnings gained throughout the process.