Substitutes for Silicon Valley: The case of the Round House Startup Factory

Authors

  • David J. Ketchen Auburn University
  • Kyle Sandler The Round House Startup Factory

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7146/jod.22391

Keywords:

Business incubator, business model, entrepreneurship, startup, startup factory, strategic resources

Abstract

Taking a startup from creation to success is notoriously difficult. Many entrepreneurs gravitate to hotbeds such as Silicon Valley in order to enjoy high levels of intellectual and financial support that in turn make success more likely. This case examines an attempt to launch startups in the absence of ‘big city’ resources: the Round House Startup Factory. Founded in the small town of Opelika, Alabama by a former Google employee, the Round House contains three types of startups: co-working firms, incubator firms, and accelerator firms. With more than thirty companies under its roof, the Round House is trying to realize big entrepreneurial dreams by leveraging strategic and non-strategic resources, developing an innovative business model, and making astute choices about governance, culture, and structure.

RETRACTION: This article "Substitutes for Silicon Valley: The Case of the Round House Startup Factory" contains several significant inaccuracies and misrepresentations that were unknown to the first author. That author has requested that the article be retracted.

RETRACTION: The article "Substitutes for Silicon Valley: The Case of the RoundHouse Startup Factory" (Vol. 4, No. 3, 2015) contains several significant inaccuraciesand misrepresentations that were unknown to the first author. That author hasrequested that the article be retracted.

References

Barney J. 1991. Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management 17(1): 99-120.

Gawer A, Cusumano MA. 2002. Platform Leadership: How Intel, Microsoft, and Cisco Drive Industry Innovation. Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA.

Lapowsky I. 2014. The next big thing that you missed: Tech superstars build ‘startup factories’. Wired, http://www.wired.com/2014/11/startup-factories/ Accessed on June 12, 2015.

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Published

2017-08-27

How to Cite

Ketchen, D. J., & Sandler, K. (2017). Substitutes for Silicon Valley: The case of the Round House Startup Factory. Journal of Organization Design, 4(3), 31–36. https://doi.org/10.7146/jod.22391

Issue

Section

Case Study