Leif Brändle

Hi! I am an Assistant Professor of Strategy & Entrepreneurship at Nova School of Business & Economics in Carcavelos, Portugal (Lisbon metropolitan area). My research focuses on understanding social dynamics (mostly social mobility and network dynamics) in entrepreneurship and innovation. I am especially interested in how entrepreneurship creates opportunities for individuals to improve their lives, independent of the circumstances they were born into.

Beyond research, I am passionate about teaching entrepreneurship and bringing people together.

Since moving to Portugal, I have started learning to surf and play beach volleyball 🏄‍♂️.

During and after my PhD at the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart, Germany, I spent time as a visiting researcher at Texas A&M University, Iowa State University, JKU Linz, and the University of Oxford before starting my current position at Nova SBE.

I deeply value international research collaborations.

With Chris Rider (University of Michigan), I am currently investigating entrepreneurs' social status worldwide.
In collaboration with Eric Zhao (University of Oxford) and Kristie Neff (San Diego State University), I am exploring the social mobility myth in entrepreneurship.
In a project with Michael Howard (Iowa State University), Emily Cox Pahnke (University of Washington), and Toby Li (Texas A&M University), we are investigating collaborations between startups in the medical device industry.

Credits: Felix Pilz Fotografie

I want to help students discover what drives them and turn their ideas into action.

I co-founded the Startup Garage during my PhD, where students learn to turn their business ideas into viable business models. I've helped dozens of teams bring their ideas to life.
I aim to make my courses as interactive as possible and invite speakers from industry and civil society to bridge theory and practice for students and organizations.

I like to organize community events around my key research topics.

Together with Eric Zhao and Kristie Neff, I have organized three PDWs at the annual conference of the Academy of Management on Social Class, Social Mobility, and Entrepreneurship.
Together With Chris Rider, Olenka Kacperzcyk, and Karl Wennberg, I am organizing a one-day extension to this year's Strategic Management Society Annual Conference in Berlin: https://www.strategicmanagement.net/event/opportunity-structures-in-a-fragmented-geo-economic-landscape-reimagining-social-mobility-in-and-around-organizations/

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