The Role of Romanian Startup Hubs – A Bridge between a Business Idea and the Reality of the Economic Sector

A startup can be categorized as a company with a business model that supports innovation and is also scalable. The growing importance of free enterprise and entrepreneurship as a driver of economic regeneration and progress has imprinted new characteristics on the obstacles that Romanian entrepreneurs face in terms of long-term development and competitiveness. This research aimed to investigate the importance of startup hubs for the business sectors, identifying the value it projects for startup owners. By conducting empirical research, the authors used mixed data collection to capture the complexity of the topic and to provide an objective context for the research. The analyzes carried out showed that from 151 questionnaires collected, 69.54% of the startup owners are interested in enrolling in a startup hub for guidance and counseling. The main constraint startup owner face concerns the financial aspect where 60% prefer to take loans from banks and 6.6% would consider accessing European funds. Even though 2 out of 3 startups are young, 64% believe their business is innovative, whereas 78.1% believe that business turnaround is a major benefit of using innovation in their business. The qualitative data revealed that in Romania startup hubs are considered a less-known concept, different from the ones overseas. Unanimously, all respondents stated that a startup hub must support newly formed startups and consider innovation as a driving force for economic growth. In conclusion, startup hubs should work closely with startup owners to ensure the success of both businesses. This paper manages to provide an in-depth analysis that should allow all parties involved to create a business environment that can support the Romanian economic sector, thus contributing to the existing research on the role of startup hubs and the way they can bridge the gap between a business idea and reality.