Westcliff International Journal of Applied Research Vol. 5, No. 1. Fall 2021 https://doi.org/10.47670/wuwijar202151SRSPPU Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Page | 64 The Five Biggest Factors Challenging Start-ups in Nepal Sushant Rijal (https://orcid.org/ 0000-0001-8640-5444) King’s College Smriti Poudel (https://orcid.org/ 0000-0002-1517-309X) King’s College Paras Upadhyay (https://orcid.org/ 0000-0003-1356-7930) King’s College ABSTRACT There are a variety of factors that pose challenges for start-ups globally. These challenges vary based on the country, region, or economy of operation. Research identified the challenges start-ups face depending on whether start-ups were established in developed or undeveloped countries. However, few research studies have been conducted in Nepal. Hence, the purpose of this study was to examine the top five factors that hindered start-up formation or posed difficulty for the growth of start-ups within Nepal between 2017 to 2020. The primary data was collected using a mixed method using purposive sampling consisting of an in-depth interview followed by a survey with entrepreneurs and experts of the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Nepal. The authors administered an in-depth interview with open-ended questions and then conducted key informant interviews. Throughout the interviews, the five major issues identified as hindering start-ups were human capital, finance, support system, policy, and marketing. Keywords: start-ups, challenging start-ups, Nepali entrepreneurs, drivers of entrepreneurship, start-up failure The Five Biggest Factors Challenging Start- ups in Nepal Start-ups are considered drivers of the economy (Jonek-Kowalska & Wolniak, 2021). The number of start-ups has increased by roughly 20 times in less than ten years (Lyons & Zhang, 2017; Nafukho & Muya, 2010). Following the international trend, the culture of entrepreneurship and start-ups has slowly been evolving in Nepal within the last decade. Many millennials have also entered the entrepreneurial ecosystem by launching new start-ups. In recent years, some of these start-ups have been able to not only survive but grow while others have succumbed to various challenges and failed. There has been much research on success and failure factors. However, the term “success factor” itself incorporates many things, and hence, lacks a consistent definition among these studies (Fisher et al., 2014; Freiling & Wessels, 2012). A great deal of research has been conducted to determine both the critical factors for success as well as hindrances to success in start-ups which provides insight into how to support start-ups and their founders in the early