Abstract

Startups have now become one of the most integral parts of a country’s economy. As an engine to propel growth and provide jobs a start-up transformation into a unicorn company is a celebrated event, thus this has made countries assist its potential entrepreneurs to promote a more conducive start-up environment. This is also in the case of Malaysia a most vibrant place for startups to grow.

Start-up failures are a common occurrence in today’s dynamic business landscape. While numerous factors contribute to a start-up’s success or failure, the founder- CEO’s leadership, business discipline, and ethical behavior play a critical role in determining the outcome. This research paper explores the impact of founder-CEO’s leadership, business discipline, and ethics on start-up failures. Start-ups are a critical part of the economy but also risky. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, 90% of start-ups fail within 10 years.

This research study investigated the role of founder CEOs’ leadership, business discipline, and ethics in startup failure. Similar studies by Universiti Sains Malaysia also provide the same result about on 10 to 20 percent success rate for local start-ups funded by government agencies. This research surveyed 200 start-ups in Malaysia around people who are involved in these start-ups as founders, team members, employees, and funders like venture capital companies.

The survey asked founders to rate their leadership, business discipline, and ethics skills, and to rate the importance of these skills to startup success. The study also interviewed founders about their startup’s success or failure. The study found that founders with strong leadership skills were more likely to succeed, while founders with weak leadership skills were more likely to fail. The study also found that founders with strong business discipline were more likely to succeed, while founders with weak business discipline were vi more likely to fail.

Finally, the study found that founders with strong ethical standards were more likely to succeed, while founders with weak ethical standards were more likely to fail. The research has several limitations. First, the study was conducted on a small sample of startups. This means that the results may not be generalizable to all startups. Second, the research was conducted over a short period of time. This means that the results may not be able to predict long-term success. Third, the research did not control for other factors that could contribute to startup success, such as the market, the team, and the funding. Despite these limitations, the research provides valuable insights into the role of leadership, business discipline, and ethics in startup success. Future research should address the limitations of this study by conducting a larger study with a more diverse sample of startups, conducting a studyover a longer period of time, and controlling for other factors that could contribute to startup success.

The research suggests that startup founders should consider investing in training to improve their leadership, business discipline, and ethical standards. This investment could significantly reduce the risk of startup failure.

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