U ovome su radu opisani i analizirani izazovi pokretanja, razvoja i ostvarivanja dugoročne održivosti start-up projekata. Sve lošija gospodarska situacija, nedostatak odgovarajućih potpora, nemogućnost pravovremenom pristupu potrebnim informacijama te kompliciranost administrativnih zahtjeva predstavljaju problem osobama koje razmišljaju o potencijalnome ulasku u poduzetništvo. Metode istraživanja korištene u radu jesu metoda sekundarne analize javno dostupnih podataka, metoda intervjua i metoda ankete. Metodom analize podataka obrađeno je pet primjera dobre prakse, odnosno pet uspješnih poduzeća koji djeluju na području Republike Hrvatske. Temeljem analize utvrđene su sljedeće dodirne točke uspješnih poduzeća: konstantno unaprjeđivanje proizvoda i inovativnost, sposobnost prilagodbe promjenama, briga o zaposlenicima i konstantno ulaganje u njih. Metodom intervjua na temelju ispitivanja pet poduzetnika dobiven je profil uspješnoga poduzetnika. Vjera u sebe, upornost, sposobnost prilagodbe, temeljitost, sklonost razumnome prihvaćanju rizika i samostalnost zajedničke su karakterne crte svim intervjuiranim poduzetnicima. Rezultatima ankete utvrđene su smjernice za uspješno pokretanje i vođenje start-upa: definiranje tržišno atraktivnog proizvoda, razvoj i očuvanje kvalitetnih poslovnih odnosa s kupcima i dobavljačima, konstantno ulaganje u poslovni razvoj i edukaciju vlasnika i djelatnika. Rezultati istraživanja ukazuju na elemente koji start-up projekt čine uspješnim, a to su motiviranost pokretača projekta (poduzetnika), sklonost poduzetnika kontinuiranome usavršavanju, inoviranju proizvoda i poslovnih procesa, financijska pismenost poduzetnika i sposobnost upravljanja financijama projekta, razvoj menadžerskih vještina poduzetnika te poznavanje potreba tržišta i razumijevanje ponašanja potrošača i konkurenata.This paper describes and analyzes the challenges of starting, developing and achieving long-term sustainability of start-up projects. Down-turn in economic cycles, the lack of adequate support, the inability to provide necessary information and the complexity of administrative requirements pose a problem to potential entrepreneurs. The research methods that have been used in this paper are: secondary analysis of publicly available data, interviewing and survey methods. According to the method of data analysis, the research was made for five successful companies in Croatia that represent examples of good practice. Based on this analysis, author defined common characteristics of successful businesses: constant improvement of product and innovation of business processes, ability to adapt to changes and good human resource management. Afterinterviewing five successful entrepreneurs, author defined components of profile of a successful entrepreneur: faith in oneself, perseverance, ability to adjust, thoroughness, risk preference and self-reliance. Based on the results of the survey, author determined the guidelines for successful starting and managing start-up projects: defining a market-attractive product, developing and maintaining quality business relationships with customers and suppliers, constant investing in business development and constant education of owners and employees. There were found several important notions during the analysis. The elements that make the start-up project successful are: motivation of entrepreneur, the tendency of entrepreneur to continuously business improvement, innovation of products and business processes, financial literacy of entrepreneur, the development of entrepreneurial managerial skills, knowledge of market needs and understanding of consumer and competitors’ behavior
