Abstract

Though there may be a proliferation of technology startups, it is a sad fact that most of them fail. Because startups depend on people, there is a need to study not only the factors that lead to the success or failure of these startups, but also the experiences of the people on which these startups depend. This study explores the experiences of software developers in technology startups in the Philippines, a developing country that has consistently ranked highly in the annual Tholons Top Outsourcing Destinations Ranking and the Kearney Global Services Location Index. Thematic analysis of interview data revealed 7 themes: Startups are characterized by (1) Rapid Search, which refers to the need to look for or develop something innovative and useful under time pressure. Rapid Search in turn requires a lot of (2) Feedback, highly flexible (3) Development Strategies, a high degree of (4) Collaboration, and a lot of (5) Learning. To cope well with all the uncertainties that startups must face, startup software developers’ (6) Motivations are more intrinsic than extrinsic, and are derived from a strong sense of (7) Community, from all the Learning (theme 5) that the software developer makes because he or she must, and from the internal gratification of having found or developed something innovative and useful, i.e., Rapid Search, which is theme 1.

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