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The Start-Up Circuit: How start-up entrepeneurs navigate the dual demands of customer validation and investor legitimacy

Rosenberg, Alexander LU ; Palving, Alex LU and Midzic, Emina LU (2026) FEKH99 20261
Department of Business Administration
Abstract
This study explores how start-up entrepreneurs navigate the dual demands of customer validation and investor legitimacy under the liability of newness, and how their initial human capital (IHC) shapes this navigation. Adopting an exploratory, theory-building ambition, the study draws on five qualitative interviews analysed through an abductive approach. Rather than experiencing the two demands as a trade-off, entrepreneurs appear to navigate them as interdependent. From this, the study develops a conceptual framework, the Start-up Circuit Model, in which legitimacy is converted into capital, capital into runway, and runway into customer validation, which in turn renews legitimacy. IHC is found to regulate how entrepreneurs enter and move... (More)
This study explores how start-up entrepreneurs navigate the dual demands of customer validation and investor legitimacy under the liability of newness, and how their initial human capital (IHC) shapes this navigation. Adopting an exploratory, theory-building ambition, the study draws on five qualitative interviews analysed through an abductive approach. Rather than experiencing the two demands as a trade-off, entrepreneurs appear to navigate them as interdependent. From this, the study develops a conceptual framework, the Start-up Circuit Model, in which legitimacy is converted into capital, capital into runway, and runway into customer validation, which in turn renews legitimacy. IHC is found to regulate how entrepreneurs enter and move through this circuit, shaping the validation they can demand, their reliance on impression management, and how they protect their limited entrepreneurial attention. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Rosenberg, Alexander LU ; Palving, Alex LU and Midzic, Emina LU
supervisor
organization
course
FEKH99 20261
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
entrepreneurship, legitimacy, start-up, customer validation, investor legitimacy, liability of newness, initial human capital, runway, impression management, institutional logics, entrepreneurial attention, lean start-up
language
English
id
9243712
date added to LUP
2026-08-11 13:51:14
date last changed
2026-08-11 13:51:14
@misc{9243712,
  abstract     = {{This study explores how start-up entrepreneurs navigate the dual demands of customer validation and investor legitimacy under the liability of newness, and how their initial human capital (IHC) shapes this navigation. Adopting an exploratory, theory-building ambition, the study draws on five qualitative interviews analysed through an abductive approach. Rather than experiencing the two demands as a trade-off, entrepreneurs appear to navigate them as interdependent. From this, the study develops a conceptual framework, the Start-up Circuit Model, in which legitimacy is converted into capital, capital into runway, and runway into customer validation, which in turn renews legitimacy. IHC is found to regulate how entrepreneurs enter and move through this circuit, shaping the validation they can demand, their reliance on impression management, and how they protect their limited entrepreneurial attention.}},
  author       = {{Rosenberg, Alexander and Palving, Alex and Midzic, Emina}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{The Start-Up Circuit: How start-up entrepeneurs navigate the dual demands of customer validation and investor legitimacy}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}