Describe the life cycle of entrepreneurial organisations and the management challenges that occur at each stage.

The organisation begins with the birth stage, where the entrepreneur struggles to get the new venture established and survive long enough to test the viability of the underlying business model in the marketplace. At this stage, the organisation will face the challenges of establishing the business, getting customers and finding the necessary capital to survive in the business. The organisations then pass into the breakthrough stage where the business model begins to work well, growth is experienced, and the complexity of managing the business operation expands significantly. At this stage the entrepreneur will face the management challenges of coping with growth and take-off. Next comes the maturity stage, where the entrepreneur experiences the advantages of market success and financial stability, while also facing continuing challenges of meeting the needs for professional management skills. At this stage the entrepreneurs will face the challenges of staying flexible and creating wise investments for the future of the business.