Founders' Perspectives on Key Components of the Incubator Ecosystem in Indian Software Startups

Abstract

Business incubators play a crucial role in fostering the growth of software product startups by enhancing their early-stage capabilities and facilitating successful venture execution. Within India's dynamic and rapidly evolving startup ecosystem, founders' demographic characteristics may shape the extent to which incubation support contributes to startup performance. This study investigates whether founders' perceptions of key incubation dimensions—Business Model, Mentoring, and Funding—vary across different demographic groups. The study employed a causal research design, with primary data collected through a structured questionnaire based on a five-point Likert scale. Using a convenience sampling approach, responses were obtained from 393 founders and chief executive officers of software product startups across India. Demographic attributes, including gender, age group, and educational qualification, were considered to examine differences among founder categories. Before testing the hypotheses, the measurement instrument was evaluated for reliability and construct validity through Cronbach's Alpha and Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). Subsequently, one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was applied to assess statistically significant differences among demographic groups with respect to the selected incubation dimensions. The empirical findings reveal that founders' demographic characteristics do not significantly influence perceptions related to business model aspect. However, significant variations were identified in perceptions of mentoring and funding across different founder groups. These findings provide important implications for incubator managers and policymakers by highlighting the need for more targeted incubation strategies that strengthen startup execution capabilities and promote the long-term growth and sustainability of software product startups in India.