The Hidden Power of Bridging Theory and Practice
What happens when a seasoned business leader and a leading entrepreneurship scholar listen to the same interviews and walk away with completely different insights? That’s exactly how The Start-Up Puzzle was born. When Robert van Pappelendam (RvP) and Dr. Joris Meijaard began their research journey, interviewing dozens of founders and executives, they quickly realized something: they weren’t hearing the same thing the same way. And that difference became their superpower.
One Problem, Two Lenses
Joris, a leading Entrepreneurship academic at the Rotterdam School of Management Business School, sees patterns. He distills complex entrepreneurial behavior into frameworks and evidence-backed models. RvP, a global executive with real start-up scars and scale-up wins, thinks in roadmaps, practical, hands-on tools that can help a founder tomorrow morning.
Together, they didn’t just write a book. They built a bridge between the rigor of research and the messiness of real life.
Most business books lean hard in one direction: Academic theory, which lacks executional punch
Or the founder’s memoirs, which offer stories but little repeatability
The Start-Up Puzzle does something different: it connects the dots.
Research That Works in the Real World
What founders need isn’t more inspiration, they need navigation. By merging validated academic insights with lived startup experience, the book equips readers with both clarity and confidence.
Take the concept of “product–market fit.” Most founders know the term. Few know how to measure it, test it, and iterate toward it. That’s where the combination of theory and fieldwork matters: The Start-Up Puzzle shows not just what matters, but how to act on it.
Why It Matters More Than Ever
Start-up failure rates haven’t changed in decades. Part of the reason? Founders are still being fed one-sided advice. Books that sound good, but don’t help you solve real problems. Or frameworks that look elegant, but collapse under pressure. That’s why The Start-Up Puzzle is different. It’s not a collection of stories or a stack of models, it’s a puzzle you can solve. And you don’t need to figure it out alone.
Want to see what happens when academic insight meets business instinct? Start reading The Start-Up Puzzle today at www.startuppuzzle.com
