Lean startups with industry 4.0 technologies: Overcoming the challenges of youth entrepreneurship in Serbia

Youth entrepreneurship is important for reducing youth unemployment rates and it overall contributes to economic growth. The main idea of this research is to determine the barriers and challenges that young entrepreneurs face in Serbia. The paper analyzes literature in this domain, and compares the status of youth entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship overall between Serbia, the EU and the US. Furthermore, a theoretical model is developed that includes the application of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies and lean startup approach. The results indicate that taxation regulation and the lack of financial support for new startups are the main barriers that the young face in Serbia. In addition, the lack of adequate entrepreneurial education creates difficulties, and demotivates potential entrepreneurs. Therefore, it is necessary to introduce or modify existing regulatory laws and introduce effective financial support for new enterprises.