Design thinking in practice: How start-ups understand and apply the concept

Design thinking is a concept that has gained massive popularity over the past decade especially in the realm of business. It is an approach to encourage innovation and to solve problems. The concept is characterized by its collaborative and human-centered nature. Despite the growing popularity of design thinking there is limited research on design thinking in practice in particular in the realm of start-ups. Little research has been done on how the concept is actually understood and applied within businesses. Moreover, the majority of the existing literature has either been focusing on design thinking in large organizations or did not make a distinction at all. In this thesis the author systematically looked at design thinking in start-ups. An explorative study was conducted, using qualitative interviews. Start-up founders with an extensive design thinking background were interviewed. The thesis focused on how design thinking is understood and how the concept is applied. The paper adds to the growing body of research that focuses on design thinking in practice and thus gives a more nuanced picture of the concept.