The Fast, the Steady and the Tenacious: Funding Pathways for Circular Start‐Ups
基于对荷兰、比利时、德国和法国32家早期循环初创企业的访谈和调查数据，识别出三种融资路径（快速、稳健、坚韧），发现市场契合度和创始人特征是决定融资成功的关键因素，对政策制定者和投资者有参考价值。
ABSTRACT Circular start‐ups (CSUs) are critical for unlocking the circular economy, yet they face persistent barriers in accessing finance. Despite growing interest from policymakers and financing institutions, little empirical evidence explains how these ventures pursue and secure funding. This is the first academic empirical study analysing how CSUs navigate and combine different funding sources. Based on semistructured interviews, supported by survey responses and firm‐level data from 32 early‐stage CSUs in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and France, we explore how CSUs navigate and combine different funding sources over time. Our findings reveal three stylised funding pathways—fast, steady and tenacious—that shaped the interaction between funding amount and start‐up age. While business model type influences funding needs, our findings show that market‐fit and founder characteristics emerge as decisive factors determining funding success. Most CSUs rely on grants, subsidies and personal funds, while private and social impact investors remain scarce. The study contributes primarily to the circular economy literature, while also advancing the fields of sustainable entrepreneurial finance and circular entrepreneurship, offering practical insights to strengthen CSUs' growth.