Abstract

‘Patsnap’, a leading IP analytics and R&D Intelligence company co-founded by Guan Dian (Dian), announced in June 2024 that it had achieved US$100 million in annual recurring revenue in Q2, 2024. As a co-founder, Dian had played an important role in the company’s growth with her team leading abilities, leadership skills, and her technical knowledge. Despite facing numerous challenges related to funding, developing the first product, marketing, and pitching the product to the right customer, Dian led the company to become the top organization in the IP analytics and R&D intelligence domain across the world. Having overcome the initial challenges, she now faced a new one – countering the competition from new startups in IP analytics and R&D intelligence with their lower priced products and newer features. It remained to be seen how Dian would manage to overcome the challenges and maintain the company’s growth.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Understand how co-founders contribute to a startup’s growth
• Identify the different leadership styles in an entrepreneurial venture
• Evaluate the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in scaling up their ventures

Keywords

Patsnap; IP Analytics; Guan Dian; artificial intelligence; Guardian Style; Entrepreneurship; Women Entrepreneurs