Abstract

This research looks at the impact that consistency between a startup’s internal culture and projected external culture has on the success of the startup, performing case studies on New York startups Betaworks, PowerToFly, and Estimize. Furthermore, this research also examined the impact of average sentiment surrounding the startup on the success of the startup. The research draws from in-person interviews, online articles written about these startups, and a sentiment analysis dataset of 26 startups in New York City. The report finds that the largest impact on the success of a startup is the consistency of a startup’s internal and external culture. PowerToFly had the lowest consistency score and the least funding, while Estimize and Betaworks both had higher consistency scores and more funding. Furthermore, the research found a negative correlation between positive sentiment and startup success, indicating that positive sentiment surrounding company is not a good indicator of a company’s present or future success.

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