Oosterhoff, Business Angels and Entrepreneurs: exploring how Social, Ecological and Economic values are created and why Business Angels invest

In this thesis the ‘motivations to invest’ are explored for Business Angels that invested in Traditional Startups and Business Angels that invested in Impact Startups. Further, it is explored how the interaction between Business Angels and Entrepreneurs stimulates the value creation of a Startup and how this is different for Traditional Startups and Impact Startups. Moreover, the concept ‘Creating Shared Value’ is analyzed at the business model level perspective of the Startups. Insights on the motives of Business Angels and knowledge on how Entrepreneurs and Business Angels together stimulate the value creation of the startup can be useful to find new ways to stimulate the rise of Impact Startups that have a sustainable business model and create social and ecological value alongside economic values. Findings show that both, Business Angels who invest in Traditional Startups and those who invest in Impact Startups, are motivated to invest by the potential of financial return and by several other personal reasons. However, for Impact Business Angels these motives are subordinate to their main motive, which is to create a positive impact on the world by creating social or ecological values. Further, Business Angels and Entrepreneurs of both, Traditional Startups and Impact Startups, stimulate value creation by 1) Knowledge Exchange, 2) Capital Transfer, and 3) Network Sharing.

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