Table 1. The milestones of the entrepreneurial journey visual map (compiled by the authors based on Jonikas, 2017; Miller, 2016; Salerno et al. (2015) and Ries, 2011).

Milestones	Description
Idea generation	Considered as the systematic search for new product ideas ( Law, 2009), yet it can be unsystematic or spontaneous.
User research	The research concentrates on user behaviours, needs, and motivations through observation techniques, task analysis, and other feedback methodologies ( Goodman et al., 2012; Ries, 2011).
Product dev.	It consists of turning a prototype or concept into a workable market offering ( Rouse, 2019). This milestone can extend in time, it is expected that the participant shows the starting and ending point.
Funding	This stage provides financial support to start-ups to finance the project.
Rise capital	This stage refers to the money obtained externally to get the business off the ground and help the daily operations.
Validation	The validation indicates the assessment of the idea, product or the start-up and acceptance from potential customers ( Ries, 2011).
Crowdfunding	In this research, crowdfunding is a way to raise finance from a large number of people, typically using an online platform, where the project is subject to pledges ( Kurani, 2021).
Pivoting	Pivot refers to more substantive iteration ( Ries, 2011). This stage refers to the abrupt change that companies may make to their business model, in response to or in anticipation of a change in the market.
Minimum viable product (MVP)	The MVP allows the start-up to collect feedback and validated learning from customers with the most reduced version of a product ( Ries, 2011).
Mentorship	The mentorship stage is when a mentor influence, guide, or directs the designer-entrepreneur ( Jonikas, 2017).
Diffusion	The diffusion stage refers to the communication process in which the entrepreneurs explain their ideas, information, product and start-up to their community or society ( Salerno et al., 2015)
Wait to develop the market	The entrepreneur decides to stop other areas of the business to develop the existing market rather than looking for a new market ( Salerno et al., 2015).
Wait to develop the tech.	The entrepreneur decides to stop other areas of the business to develop the technology by systematic use of scientific, technical, economic, and commercial knowledge to meet specific business objectives or requirements ( Salerno et al., 2015).
Outsource	This stage indicates the practice of subcontracting another company to perform services and create goods that cannot be performed in-house.
Manu-facturing	This stage points out the process of converting materials, components, or parts into the finished product ( Miller, 2016; Salerno et al., 2015).
Sell	This milestone indicates the exchange of money for the final product. It can be online, in a departmental store or in an independent store.
Distribution	This stage is representative of the milestone of moving the product through a distribution channel to the final customer, customer, or user ( Salerno et al., 2015).
Intellectual property	This milestone represents the need to protect the creative idea from entrepreneurs ( Jonikas, 2017).
Rapid prototyping	Designers utilized sketches, tangible models, or computer-generated models to configurate a rough-and-ready prototype ( Ries, 2011).
Market research	This milestone refers to the activity of identifying the size of the market, the user´s unmet needs, and potential threats for the company, and market opportunities.
Resources evaluation	This research refers to the resource evaluation milestone to the activity where entrepreneurs evaluate tier resources: materials, human capital, tools, and funds.
Engineering validation test (EVT)	EVT evaluates the assembly of the parts for fit and tests the product for function. The hypothesis of the core engineering functions is tested ( Henning, 2020; Miller, 2016).
Design validation test	The production line is built and tested. The test covers the production lines and whether or not they are able to produce and end unit that meets all the product requirements ( Henning, 2020; Miller, 2016).
Production validation test	At this stage the production line is tested to show how the production process work at scale ( Henning, 2020; Miller, 2016).