DIGDeeper skills seminar
Earlier in March, the DIGDeeper Master’s Thesis Programme Spring 2025 hosted its Skills Seminar, a cornerstone of our commitment to equipping students with advanced research and analytical capabilities.
Xiaoguang Wu on sustainability in start-ups
Research scholar Xiaoguang Wu investigates how sustainability takes root in start-ups, combining sociological theory with data-driven methods at DIG.
Before embarking on his academic journey, Wu spent fourteen years as an entrepreneur, shuttling between Beijing’s hutongs and London’s Silicon Roundabout. The ventures that he founded and co-founded ranged from language services to IoT solutions, giving him an insight into many different sectors. One question particularly stayed with Wu throughout this process.
“Why do large, apparently ‘responsible’ firms so often leave environmental and social skid-marks in their wake? Their glossy ESG brochures insisted everything was splendid. The evidence outside my office window suggested otherwise.”
This led Wu to realize that the answer might lie in the start-up stage, prompting him to begin his research on sustainability in entrepreneurship. More specifically, his research explores how environmental, social, and economic sustainability emerges in entrepreneurial settings, from a sociological perspective.
From data to impact
Some of the questions that Wu explores in his research include why profit-oriented start-ups engage with environmental and social issues, how contrasting institutional contexts influence founders’ choices, and how individual cultural configurations affect their performances. He does this by employing econometric methods on diverse datasets, generating insights that matter to entrepreneurs and policy-makers.
Wu shares that DIG provides both the intellectual infrastructure and the human support that turn a research question into real-world impact.
“DIG is exactly where my research belongs. Its mission of pairing technological innovation with responsible growth mirrors my own focus on sustainability in start-ups, while its breadth gives me ready-made sparring partners from every relevant discipline,” he explains.
At the same time, Wu appreciates how DIG brings together practical tools and everyday moments. From access to data and cross-disciplinary input to open-door conversations, and even the occasional cinnamon bun, it’s a place where both ideas and collaboration grow, according to him.
Wu also serves as coordinator of the DIG Deeper Master’s programme, alongside his research. As a coordinator, he helps to cultivate a learning environment that balances creative exploration with rigorous academic standards, in line with the DIG spirit.
A shared responsibility
To help future entrepreneurs navigate the balance between commercial objectives and sustainability goals, Wu has developed a hands-on tool for the classroom: the Entrepreneurial Sustainability Canvas. By rating both economic and sustainability priorities on a 1–10 scale, founders are encouraged to keep both dimensions in focus from the outset. While the tool requires thoughtful reflection, feedback from teaching sessions suggests it helps ventures make more deliberate and aligned decisions.
For Wu, this work is about more than academic theory. It’s also about shaping what tomorrow’s companies will stand for. The research scholar refers to start-ups as society’s petri dishes.
“If we can bake sustainability into their DNA while the broth is still warm, we might spare ourselves the agony of retrofitting ethics onto the next generation of tech giants,” he explains.
Outside of academia, Wu remains engaged in social impact through creative and volunteer work. As a pro bono photographer for non-profits that promote social cohesion, he sees both research and entrepreneurship as part of a broader social contract.
“Whether we call ourselves researchers or entrepreneurs, we are, above all, members of the same society. Our innovations and insights earn their keep only when they strengthen the communities around us and safeguard the planet beneath our feet. My hope is that the work I do, and the partnerships it invites, add a small but steady contribution to that shared responsibility.”
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