Software Startup Ecosystems. A Regional Comparison of Vienna and Zürich

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2020 in the subject Computer Science - Commercial Information Technology, grade: 1- Very Good, University of Linz (Institut für Wirtschaftsinformatik - Information Engineering), language: English, abstract: The growth of software startups is highly dependent of the whole array of institutions and organizations surrounding them. The academic literature defines this environment as software startup ecosystem (SSE), or startup hub. Understanding the peculiarities and the maturity of specific SSEs allows founders to better comprehend what challenges they will be facing in their particular location, what advantages they have and what opportunities remain unexplored. SSE studies also allow other institutions, such as governmental agencies or support organizations, to understand which areas are most developed and which need more attention. This bachelor thesis seeks to analyze two regional central European SSEs, Zürich and Vienna, understand their differences, similarities and what one can learn from the other. To realize this, an analysis of both ecosystems maturity was realized, using an existing SSE maturity model consisting of 22 metrics. This resulted in a classification of both SSEs maturity stages, which found Vienna to be nascent and Zürich to be mature.