Business model development in European aerospace start-ups: The case of the spaceup project

In their quest for market establishment and organizational maturity, business model development (BMD) plays a crucial role for start-ups. After foundation, primary focus is no longer on generating promising business ideas, but on commercializing a start-upâs inherent potential. This particularly applies to innovative, technology-based start-ups. Here, superior functions in relation to existing solutions resulting from advancements in technologies and the value associated with such functional superiority are center of entrepreneurial activity and BMD. This study presents the BMD methodology applied for supporting 60 technology-based, aerospace-related start-ups on their path to becoming leading companies in their field and the results of its application in the frame of the SpaceUp project. The methodology was carried out in a two-stage process. First, a questionnaire was provided to the start-ups to capture and assess their business model (BM). In a second step, based on the information provided, a detailed evaluation of the start-upsâ BM was carried out and starting points for further development were generated. In order to assess the relevance and usefulness of the results generated by applying the methodology, a quantitative survey was conducted among the start-ups. The survey showed that the generated results were perceived as beneficial by the start-ups and that the application of the methodology therefore proved successful in the project.