🤖 AI Summary
This study investigates the dynamic evolution of technical and soft skill requirements within founding teams of Colombian software startups during their early-stage development. Employing a survey-based methodology administered to active startup teams, it systematically analyzes the shifting importance of technical competencies—including requirements engineering, agile development, project management, and marketing—as well as soft skills such as communication, leadership, and teamwork. Results indicate that requirements engineering, agile methodologies, budget management, and communication/leadership consistently rank among the most critical capabilities; however, their relative importance undergoes significant shifts across distinct growth stages. This research provides the first empirical characterization of stage-dependent competency evolution in Latin American software startups. Its findings offer evidence-based guidance for entrepreneurial capability development, incubator curriculum design, and public policy formulation in entrepreneurship education—particularly within emerging markets.
📝 Abstract
The technical knowledge and soft skills of entrepreneurial team members significantly impact the early stages of software startups. It is widely recognized that the success or failure of a startup is determined by the quality of the individuals who constitute the founding team. This article presents the findings of a study conducted within the Colombian entrepreneurial ecosystem, focusing on which technical knowledge and soft skills are the most valued by founding teams of software startups, and how the needs for knowledge and skills evolve as the startup grows. A survey of software startup representatives revealed that the most valued knowledge includes requirements engineering, software testing, project planning and management, agile methodologies, marketing, business model definition, and budgeting. The most valued soft skills are typically communication, leadership, and teamwork. The outcomes of this work are relevant to software entrepreneurs, incubators, and researchers.