Barriers to eco-innovation Theoretical reflections.

Purpose: This paper is written as a personal evaluation of the entrepreneurial journey starting a new venture based on a new product and concept. Design/methodology/approach: This is a paper designed on to analyze the past experiences of developing a product and searching for a reference customer to start a knowledge based company, using the authors personal experiences with a self-ethnographic method to evaluate of the entrepreneurial actions carried out, the interactions made as a learning process. Findings: Conversion of knowledge into a practical customer case is the key to reach success in product development, the complexities to the development of an eco-product exist as stated in theory, but in this case the development of regular product was even more difficult due to the lack of social capital, knowledge and control on R&D. Practical implications: The lack of social capital makes it difficult to use entrepreneurial strategies and methods. Developing a first customer case requires a lot of commitment and it means time and resources. Originality/value The experience in the field of product development from a sustainability perspective on development of an eco-product and a regular product gives new insights about the systemic nature of eco-innovation and the difficulties to articulate a sustainable idea in practice