Project Fenix

Project Fenix is an initiative from the Professorship of Entrepreneurship that explores different facets of entrepreneurship. The decision was made to explicitly focus on failure and restart, as this is an underexplored aspect in both research and education. Entrepreneurship is characterized by ups and downs, and the reality is that many businesses fail. The core of our research is understanding how entrepreneurs overcome failure.

The goals of the project

• To show that (dealing with) setbacks, failure, and recovery are natural parts of the entrepreneurial process, and that even the best and most experienced entrepreneurs face these challenges;
• To describe, through publications, educational materials, and presentations, how entrepreneurs and their stakeholders respond to business failure and recovery;
• To formulate and share findings, through policy advice and education, to reduce the (financial, social, emotional, and other) costs of business failure, accelerate the recovery process, and preserve entrepreneurial capital.

We aim to achieve this by collecting and analyzing stories from entrepreneurs who have experienced business failure. While each story is personal, the interviews focus on how the entrepreneur’s thoughts and interactions with their social network influence the failure and recovery process. After anonymizing and editing the interviews, the stories are stored in our database. In no case can a story be traced back to an individual entrepreneur or business. This database of over a thousand stories is solely used for scientific research and educational purposes.

What Do We Do?

Since 2017, we have been collecting stories of various types of business failure and recovery. These failure experiences may include extreme cases such as bankruptcy or the involuntary termination or sale of a (part of a) business. Examples of stories include innovation projects, new market introductions, or other investments that went wrong and led to the closure of a branch or department, layoffs, or the replacement of management to ensure the survival of the rest of the company.

From these stories, we can map patterns and provide (scientific) insights into the failure and recovery process. By sharing their stories, entrepreneurs also serve as examples for students. Sharing experiences helps future entrepreneurs prepare for and cope with setbacks and recover more easily. Based on insights from research, we have developed a protocol that enables students to interview entrepreneurs.

Fenix Output

Section 1: Fenix in Education

As an entrepreneurship student, it is important to become aware that entrepreneurship doesn’t always go smoothly, and to learn how to deal with setbacks. With the Fenix module, students get the chance to learn more about innovation trajectories, developments in an economic sector, and expanding a business network. Whether students aim to become entrepreneurs themselves or assist entrepreneurs in the future, the stories from experienced entrepreneurs help develop a realistic view of entrepreneurship.

The educational module is designed for regular education. The module can be adapted to the program where it is used and the series of lessons it aligns with. At its core, the module involves interviewing an entrepreneur, drawing lessons from their entrepreneurial story, and applying them to the student’s own learning path. The entrepreneurs' experiences provide insights into where things can go wrong in the development of a business and how to prevent that in future actions.

To find entrepreneurs who have faced severe setbacks or gone bankrupt, we recommend that participating students ask around in their own network (family, friends, acquaintances). Local newspapers often provide useful information. The module can be obtained via email, in consultation with the HvA research leaders. After the request, we will determine how the module can be adapted to the program/lesson series and how HvA can support the implementation. A condition is that HvA is mentioned as the developer of the Fenix Module.

Section 2: Fenix Workshops

The knowledge and expertise we have built over the years has been translated into images, illustrations, and assignments.

CUSTOM WORKSHOPS

A presentation or workshop can be tailored in consultation with the HvA research leaders within the following themes:

The content of failure and restart:

• Definitions of failure, agility, and recovery.

• Early warning and crisis prevention.

• The role of the entrepreneur and other key actors in the environment.

Vicarious Learning – Learning from others' stories:

• The theory behind learning from others’ experiences.

• Patterns in stories of failure and recovery.

• Applying this method in other themes.

Conducting qualitative research:

• How to conduct an interview and prepare for it.

• Transcription protocols: what does it entail?

• Anonymization protocols: what should or should not be anonymized?

Section 3: Fenix Stories

In 2017, we started a database that now contains over a thousand stories. These stories have been collected by students who worked on this project. Over the past period, not only researchers but also students have used the data for research during their graduation projects.

The stories contain the following information:

• Personal characteristics of the entrepreneur
• Background and industry of the company
• Description of the setbacks and recovery process
• The entrepreneur's network of stakeholders
• Lessons shared by the entrepreneur

The database is available for research purposes. You can submit a request to access and edit the data by emailing Ingrid Wakkee, HvA Professor of Entrepreneurship.

The transcripts created from the interviews have been anonymized and coded according to GDPR guidelines to protect the identity of entrepreneurs and students (examples of the consent form and the anonymization protocol are available as part of the educational module).

Section 4: Articles and Reports from the Fenix Project

Books

• Alvarado Valenzuela J.F., Blagburn N., Martens J. 2021. Project Fenix. ISBN 9789491371400
• Wakkee I. 2010. Faillissement en Herstart; Entrepreneurship Update. ISBN/EAN: 978-90-78621-08-9

Scientific Articles

• Martens J, Alvarado Valenzuela J.F. (2019) Hulp voor ondernemers in nood. Maandblad voor Accountancy en Bedrijfseconomie 93(3/4): 127-134.
• Alvarado Valenzuela J.F., Wakkee I., Martens J., Grijsbach P. (2020) Lessons from entrepreneurial failure through vicarious learning, Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, DOI: 10.1080/08276331.2020.1831839

Section 5: Graduation

The data from Project Fenix provides many opportunities for students who wish to conduct research for their bachelor’s or master’s thesis. When students wish to use the data, they receive guidance from the Project Fenix researchers.

In recent years, several studies have been conducted by students from HvA, AMSIB, and Vrije Universiteit. Some examples:

• A Commercial Economics student researched the role of different parties within a company and how they respond in the event of a business crisis (thesis by Carmen Been, HvA 2019),
• The data was used to gain insights into stories of failure from female entrepreneurs (thesis by Samantha Francisco, HvA 2020),
• An AMSIB student studied the impact of internationalization on the failure process of a business (thesis by Max Spierings, AMSIB 2020),
• An MBA student (also HvA staff) researched how financial advisors handle their role when a business faces trouble (thesis by Desiree de Bos-van Birgelen, Nyenrode 2020),
• The data was also used to study the differences between female and male students in dealing with this assignment (thesis by Myrthe Bootsma, VU 2021),
• Students used the data to focus on the role of the network for entrepreneurs in distress (thesis by Meredith Petrisie, VU 2021 and thesis by Joury Ottenbros, HvA 2021),
• Other students were interested in looking toward the future: How do entrepreneurs who have faced serious problems view the future? (thesis by Jim Woudstra, HvA 2021; thesis by Judy Westenberg, HvA 2021).

Section 6: Collaboration

Over the years, we have collaborated with the following partners:

Within HvA:

• Creative Business Program – Faculty of Digital Media and Creative Industry, in the specialization Media Entrepreneurship, with Annemieke Boer.
• Commercial Economics Program – Faculty of Business and Economics, in the Entrepreneurship Track, with Stefan Molenaars, Pere Guanter, and Zouhair Ben Abdelkarim.
• Sports, Management, and Entrepreneurship Program – Faculty of Sports, Movement, and Nutrition, with the entrepreneurship team led by Wilko de Graaf, and collaboration with Jet van der Werf.

Outside HvA:

• Avans University of Applied Sciences, Business Innovation program with Yvonne Koert and Anne Marieke Fransen.
• Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, Professorship of Business Innovation, with the team led by Dr. Arie de Wild.
• University of Northumbria, UK, Business Faculty, Business Closure course with Dr. Natalia Blagburn.
• University of Taphar with Dr. Karminder Ghuman.
• Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia, with Andrea Zelienkova.