Resourceful by design: archetypal strategies in startup resource management

New product development drives innovation, and the ability to effectively manage resources is critical during the process. Startup founders represent an authentic, unique subset of designers trying to bring innovative products to market. While prior work has identified distinct archetypes that emerge based on individual traits such as entrepreneurial self-efficacy, entrepreneurial bricolage, risk propensity, and psychological safety, little work has investigated how resource management behaviours differ across archetypes and affect firm performance. We leveraged data from 123 startup founders to study the relationship between individual traits, resource management behaviours, and firm performance. Data Envelopment Analysis was employed to determine how efficiently participants managed financial resources in The Incubator, a serious game that mimics the new product development process. Results revealed differences between archetypes in resource management. Secondary data collection leveraged available reports of annual reported revenue, resulting in data from 32 firms from the original sample. Note, as these were startups, not all had available revenue data. Results suggest that the amount of money participants spent in the game is positively correlated with firm performance and that firms led by participants with greater levels of individual traits exhibited greater firm performance, measured by annual reported revenue.