Access to financial resources

ment of technology and scientific validation are interesting in a collaboration with the university.” Access to test facilities and users is seen in different phases, varying from development, testing or validation in collaboration with, say, the scientific area. Startups thus like indexes of trainers and their needs and of researchers and students' interests, so as to have easier access to testing and potential partners.

Access to financial resources

The third key insight was the financial element of more or less all the phases of development. Startups, especially technology startups, on the other hand, know that developmental and commercial financial resources are needed to start a business. For the developmental resources, seeking research and development funding alongside researchers is an opportunity startups like to seek support for both the matchmaking with researchers and exploring the non-profit fund distributions pipeline. Because of the non-profit claims by private business foundations and private-public foundations and other private self-governing institutions, these resources cannot be spent on business development, but may be spent on research that is publicly available (https://fondenesvidenscenter. dk/, 12.7.2021). Other similar organisations act as foundations with significant non-profit fund distributions for the common good, e.g. patient associations and philanthropic associations for general charitable purposes. Those organisations are regulated under similar conditions. The same applies to EU research and innovation funds from which the startups also ask for support to explore and understand the opportunities. Knowledge established with these funds must be publicly available, and the financial resources are thus not distorting competition. On the other side, the startups are aware of the venture capital pipelines for developing the business part of a startup and would like matching opportunities teaming up to venture capital. Some startups, and perhaps even the majority, see this pipeline as the main provider of financial resources.

Overall, we found that each startup is unique, has its own matrix of collaboration and financial resource opportunities, and needs to be supported as such with each unique setup.