Start Cup Emilia-Romagna: Fatti Stilizzati, Prospettive ed Impatto (Start Cup Emilia-Romagna: Stylized Facts, Prospects and Impact)

Over the past decade, programs to ignite and develop business ideas have received increasing attention due to their ability to stimulate entrepreneurial mindsets and their effectiveness in creating the skills to foster the recognition of business opportunities and the creation of innovative new ventures. Among the entrepreneurship support programs receiving increasing international attention are certainly the Business Plan Competitions. Conceived as competitions between teams of (aspiring) entrepreneurs, Business Plan Competitions are designed to foster the learning of entrepreneurial skills through the systematic exchange of information and knowledge, both within the entrepreneurial team and with external stakeholders. Both globally and In Italy, the phenomenon of Business Plan Competitions is growing rapidly. Despite the great attention and interest encountered by policy makers and aspiring entrepreneurs, however, there are no studies that analyze the effectiveness of Business Plan Competitions using longitudinal, multi-level data from multiple sources. This report therefore aims to analyze the Start Cup Emilia-Romagna regional program in Italy and assess its effectiveness by mapping the characteristics of applicants and participants in the program and the companies they founded. The study uses secondary data on the 249 individuals (i.e., applicants) who applied to the Start Cup Emilia-Romagna program in the 2017, 2018, and 2019 editions. Those accepted to the program are 100 (i.e., participants), while those excluded are 149. All applicants were observed longitudinally, until 2022, documenting their involvement in entrepreneurial activities. The analysis also shows that 99 individuals - including 43 among those accepted and 56 among those excluded from the program - are founders of 131 companies. Furthermore, for each edition, the characteristics of applicants, accepted and excluded are described in aggregate form, analyzing any similarities and/or differences between the groups and the companies they have founded. The report concludes with some policy recommendations.