Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management Studies

Abstract Start-up projects are increasingly gaining attention from investors and entrepreneurs due to changing paradigms, making their evaluation essential. But problem is that start-ups like any other firms have some risks that they are not familiar with. On the other hand, there is less research in literature which explore and assess start up project risks that can be considered as a gap. This research addresses a gap in the literature by comprehensively identifying, evaluating, and managing risks associated with start-up projects. Utilizing FMEA, fuzzy MCDM, and a mathematical model, the study aims to rank the risks of start-up projects and determine optimal strategies to mitigate them. Fuzzy MCDM technique in weighting part was Swara that was used for determination of measures weight and in ranking part was WASPAS that was used for ranking alternatives. The projects examined include Snapp, Tapsi, DigiKala, Aparat, CafeBazzar, and Alopeyk in Iran. The results reveal that time is the most significant risk factor, with a value of 0.53, followed by cost at 0.30 and quality at 0.17. Furthermore, the most critical risks identified include resource shortages and supply challenges, closely followed by team size, time pressures, and the business plan, with uncertainty ranking prominently as well. The final analysis provides optimal strategies focused on minimizing time and cost, emphasizing their optimization in risk response. This research can help managers to decide about project based on their risks and also start up business population can get information about probable risks of their project before and after running them.