Abstract for: Modeling Start-ups using System Dynamics: Towards a generic model

In system dynamics, different scholars have proposed templates to analyze similar problems, e.g. Peter Senge’s archetypes. However, there are not generic system dynamics models of businesses. This paper attempts to develop a generic model for managing start-ups based on two common businesses, internet services and management consultants, with the aim to provide a template for entrepreneurs to start developing a system dynamics model of their own firms. The different experiments with the generic model suggest that long term management of key staff and cost optimizing are the right strategies to overcome the high rate of failure during the first 5 years of operation of start-ups.