在學學生創業之行動研究－以VUSE經營團隊為例

Abstract

近年台灣經濟發展腳步趨緩，雖然物價指數日益攀升，社會新鮮人的薪資水平卻始終低迷，為了擺脫低薪與青年高失業率，謀求更好出路，愈來愈多大學畢業生或在學學生選擇投入創業。亦在政府與民間創業育成機構與國內外創業投資人的催化下，學生創業的風氣逐漸興起。 為解在學學生創業的真實歷程，本研究採用行動研究方法，以研究者本身與創業夥伴們由2010年至2015年，以在學學生身分共同組成的創業團隊－「VUSE經營團隊」之實際發展經驗為研究個案，透過研究者的觀點，記錄其發展歷程與轉變，挖掘過程中所遭遇的困難，並提出反思、檢討、後續應對方式與研究發現。研究歷程依序分為四個階段：培養期、探索期、衝刺期與重整期。第一階段培養期為VUSE團隊成員皆仍就讀於大學的草創時期，初期團隊獲得許多肯定，後因成員紛紛面臨畢業壓力，開始思考團隊經營之永續性，進而正式登記為公司；第二階段探索期為公司成立初期，VUSE團隊做了各式探索力求發展，雖仍未找出穩定的商業模式，但也累積了許多寶貴經驗；第三階段衝刺期為團隊彙整前兩個階段所獲得之經驗與資源，專注於經營電子商務平台－「Fruitfish果子魚」的時期，後因與合作廠商之金流架構設計滯礙難行而轉型為純藝術授權之模式；最後一個階段重整期則描述團隊經營電商平台告一段落後，研究者以行動研究方法歸納過去三時期的歷程並做出的新規劃，此時期VUSE團隊整理出旗下六大業務並建構佈思接案平台，為執行行動研究後所作出的因應轉型。 經過四個階段的分析與執行，研究者發現在學創業者有較多的嘗試錯誤的機會與時間，但在學學生若有心投入創業，儘管具有低經濟壓力等諸多優勢，仍須在創業初期打好基礎，建立正確的商業模式與財務會計觀念，以全職心態前進，否則低經濟壓力將會使在學創業者降低危機意識，過多安逸感反而成為阻礙成長的因子。最後，建議創業者當遭逢挫折或瓶頸時應暫時停下腳步，整理過去歷程並檢討反省，校正方向後再行前進。並且培養當機立斷勇於割捨的能力，不被過去的成果所束縛，開創更多發展可能性。

In recent years, Taiwan’s economic development has slowed down, and despite rising prices, the salary level of fresh graduate remains low. To cope with low salaries and high youth unemployment rate and pursue a better future, an increasing number of college graduates and current students have chosen to start their own business. Business incubators of the public and private sectors, and venture capitals home and abroad have also fueled this wave of student entrepreneurship. In order to understand the actual entrepreneurship process of current students, the action research methodology is being adopted to study the course of development of the “VUSE Management Team” from year 2010 to 2015. VUSE is a startup founded by the researcher and his co-founders while in college. From the perspective of the researcher, this study examines the development and changes of VUSE, discuss challenges discovered, reflect on and review the process, propose solutions moving forward, and present research findings. The study divides the development of VUSE into four phases by chronological order: the ideation phase, the discovery phase, the validation phase, and the transition phase. The first phase, ideation, describes the pre-startup period when members of VUSE were still in college and their concepts were well-received. Facing the stress of making post-graduation choices, the team assessed whether their business model was feasible, and decided to register the business. The second phase, discovery, is defined as the early startup period when the VUSE team did a lot of exploring in order to grow. Although they had not yet developed a stable business model, they had accumulated a lot of know-hows. The third phase, validation, took place when the team leveraged the know-hows and resources gained from previous phases and focused on running its e-commerce platform - “Fruitfish.” However, due to obstacles in establishing a cash flow model with partner firms, Fruitfish turned into a platform that only allowed for art licensing. The last phase, transition, is the phase following the end of the e-commerce platform. In this phase, the researcher has utilized the action research methodology to draw from the experience of the previous three phases to develop new plans. The action research concluded that VUSE is in need of transition, in response, the VUSE team has identified six core businesses and established the VUSE Inc. platform to handle requests. Going through four phases of analysis and implementation, the researcher discovered that student entrepreneurs have more spare time and are in a better position to take chances and make mistakes. There are several advantages with being a student entrepreneur, among them, low financial burden. However, if students are serious about starting their own business, they need to build a solid foundation when the startup is in its early stage, find the right business model, acquire knowledge in finance and accounting, and view the startup as their full-time job. Otherwise, the lack of financial burden will make student entrepreneurs less alert of risks, and content with the status quo may impede growth. Finally, it is recommended that when entrepreneurs face obstacles or reach a bottleneck, they should step back to reflect on and examine their past, reposition themselves, and then move forward. People should not be defined by their past achievements, thus it is advised to develop the ability to make prompt decisions and tough choices, and focus on opening up more possibilities for the future.