Startup Clinics: Applied Research and ‘First Aid’ for Early Stage Startups

Abstract

The actions and behaviour of early-stage startups are characterized by high levels of uncertainty. It is often the case that the market, the customers and the product are unknown. This is exactly where the Berlin Startup Clinics come into play. With their roots in the English-speaking educational tradition of Legal Clinics, the Startup Clinics provide free support for founders and simultaneously allow doctoral students to gain practical experience. The Startup Clinics in Berlin were extended to include not only legal ‘first aid’, but also a Finance Clinic, a Business Model Clinic, a Marketing and Sales Clinic and a Human Resource (HR) Clinic. These Startup Clinics support and research early-stage startups as well as offering networks and decision support tools in these phases of great uncertainty for the startup.