The Evolution and Future of Startup Studios

The concept of the startup studio continues to revolutionize entrepreneurship and the methods used for acquiring venture capital. In essence, this approach provides a well-defined and repeatable process not unlike those found within the world of manufacturing. As a result, businesses formed in a studio now enjoy a greater chance of success than ever before. 

A startup studio like NineTwoThree internally funds digital ventures to create new businesses. Instead of an entrepreneur starting a single business, the studio model creates a team of developers and business builders and supports them with processes and frameworks that improve with each new startup launch.

With startup studios now generating a ton of buzz in the entrepreneurial community, what’s next for this emerging approach for business development? A continued evolution is an easy prediction as more successful stories emerge from a variety of industry sectors. 

What follows is a high-level overview covering the history, current evolution, and future of the startup studio. Leverage these insights to inform your own ideas on successfully incubating a new business. In a constantly changing worldwide economy, those armed with the right knowledge remain better equipped to build nascent organizations ready for long-term success. So check out this article as well as our other coverage on the growing world of startup studios. 

The History of The Startup Studio 

The concept of the startup studio as a business incubator first emerged in the middle of the 1990s. At that point in time, many of the technology innovations that modern studios rely on simply did not exist. These include smartphones, rapid prototyping, the analysis of big data, and arguably the most important: cloud-based server farms. 

In short, whatever great ideas emerged, these nascent studios lacked the technical resources to differentiate themselves from other startups vetting ideas and acquiring venture capital from traditional providers. The concept of building a studio to form startup businesses as a well-defined and repeatable process – similar to a well-honed factory – still lay a few decades away. 

The late Aughts provided the startup studio approach the environment needed for the concept to begin to grow. The Great Recession also created a host of talented technology and business professionals looking for new opportunities. With many potential business owners struggling financially, entrepreneurs could now turn to a startup studio to reduce overall risk and gain support for their new digital venture.

At this point, the startup studio stood poised to make a significant impact on the process of forming new businesses. Let’s look more closely at the growth of the studio concept throughout the 2010s .

The Startup Studios Make a Difference in the Tech World

Cloud-based technical infrastructures, mobile devices, and a supply of technology and business talent hoping to quickly make an impact raised the stakes for the startup studio concept in the 2010s. As news about successful new businesses incubated within a startup studio emerged, this approach for forming new businesses gained more supporters. Successful studios shared best practices, while modern software development methodologies, like Agile and Lean Startup, also increased the velocity of prototyping. 

In more recent times, social marketing provided useful insights on new markets, with AI and machine learning helping startups glean actionable information to increase their chances of success. Advancements in mobile technology spawned new product ideas for studios to discover and capitalize on, especially in the areas of health and the IoT. Massive amounts of data now exist on the web for creating a startup studio, but it still requires some deft analysis to select the right information. 

Ultimately, it’s a scenario leading to a rapid increase in the number of startup studios. Some industry pundits even predict the number of studios to triple by the end of 2023. 

The Future of the Startup Studio Holds Much Promise 

Beyond 2023, the future of the startup studio concept looks very bright. Networking of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and digital agencies following this approach fosters a vibrant community focused on cooperation as opposed to competition. The anecdotal data that attracted so many adherents to this concept in earlier days is replaced by detailed studies analyzing the successes and failures of businesses adopting this methodology for new business formation. In fact, even calling it a methodology reveals the growing maturity of the startup studio concept.

Expect studios to show an increase in value to investors as well as the global business community. Not surprisingly, venture capitalists and other sources already invest a growing amount into new and existing startup studios. The traditional hunt for alluring growth opportunities definitely comes into play when considering these investments. Collaboration between emerging studios also helps define best practices for the various processes involved in forming any successful business. In the end, it’s a promising time to form a studio.

If you want to learn more about the processes involved along with a few best practices we learned over time, check out our Digital Venture Studio Playbook. It’s filled with a plethora of useful information to help your understanding of the approach.