Paper Title
STARTUP SUSTAINABILITY AS BUSINESS IMPERATIVE: ISSUES, CHALLENGES, AND PRAGMATIC STRATEGIESAbstract
Startups play a pivotal role in driving innovation, economic growth, and job creation. However, their sustainability remains a critical concern in today\'s dynamic business landscape. This extended abstract delves into the multifaceted aspects of making startups sustainable, highlighting the key issues, challenges, and strategies involved. Startups are characterized by their agility, innovation, and potential for disruptive impact. While they hold promise for addressing societal challenges and fueling economic growth, their high failure rates and environmental impacts raise questions about their long-term sustainability. Entrepreneurs need to explore the sustainability of their startups by examining the various dimensions that contribute to their success or failure. Financial viability of a startup is the foremost and a perennial challenge as they need to secure funding and manage finances. Lack of sustainable revenue streams and over-reliance on external investments often lead to financial instability. Many startups operate in industries with significant environmental footprints.
Balancing growth with environmental sustainability poses a considerable challenge, especially in sectors like technology and manufacturing. Startups must navigate social responsibility concerns, including ethical practices, diversity and inclusion, and community engagement. Failing to address these issues can lead to reputational damage and loss of stakeholder trust. Limited human, financial, and technological resources constrain startups\' ability to implement sustainable practices and scale their operations. Compliance with ever-evolving regulations adds complexity and cost to startup operations, particularly in highly regulated industries such as healthcare and finance. Rapid market changes, technological advancements, and competitive pressures create uncertainty for startups, making long-term planning and sustainability efforts challenging. In the light of several key challenges and issues faced by them, startups need to come up with pragmatic strategies that are viable and sustainable in the long-run. In this dynamic context, adopting lean principles helps startups optimize resource utilization, reduce waste, and improve efficiency, enhancing their sustainability and resilience. Collaborating with established companies, government agencies, and NGOs can provide startups with access to resources, expertise, and market opportunities to support sustainable growth. Embracing a triple bottom line framework—focusing on economic, social, and environmental outcomes—enables startups to balance profit with purpose and planet, fostering long-term sustainability. Achieving sustainability in startups requires addressing a myriad of interconnected issues and challenges while leveraging innovative strategies. By adopting a holistic approach that considers financial, environmental, and social dimensions, startups can enhance their resilience, mitigate risks, and contribute to a more sustainable future. An attempt is made in this Concept Paper to provide a comprehensive overview of the complexities surrounding the sustainability of startups, laying the groundwork for further research and practical interventions in this vital area of entrepreneurship.
KEYWORDS : Start-up; Sustainability; Entrepreneurship; Environment; and Resilience.