Master's Thesis from the year 2017 in the subject Business economics - Company formation, Business Plans, grade: 2,0, Andrássy Gyula Deutschsprachige Universität Budapest, language: English, abstract: As more and more startup companies are founded every year worldwide, building up one's own business does not get easier. Since 9 out of 10 startups fail, future entrepreneurs are well advised to take a look at potential reasons for failure and success. Learning from others' mistakes and studying success stories can improve their own performance and help to avoid critical errors. The academic paper at hand will provide valuable insights for entrepreneurs. After delivering an overview of the most commonly used terms and definitions in the startup scene, chapter 6 will describe the components of a business idea and how experts can assess a company's value. Subsequently, the most important factors for a startup company's success, according to literature review, will be listed and illustrated. Various standpoints of academic research and studies will be discussed. Delineating both internal and external factors, this thesis not only delivers a synoptic view of potential challenges inside a startup as well as in its ecosystem, but also juxtaposes these influences in opposition. The second part of this paper analyzes a series of interviews with twelve startup founders from three different regions (the province of North-Rhine Westphalia in Germany, Budapest in Hungary and the state of California in the US). Their views and experiences will be summarized and put into the context of their respective startup ecosystem. This way, the study is able to provide an understanding of the distinctive attributes of these ecosystems. Furthermore, the interviewees' challenges and advices will be compared to previously reviewed literature. Therefore, the reader is able to gain insights from an academic perspective, as well as from real-life examples.