About SMART Compass
I'm Dr. Anja Hagedorn, researcher, innovation practitioner, and independent founder coach based in Leipzig, Germany. My work focuses on entrepreneurial coaching, venture development, and decision-support structures in uncertain environments. SMART Compass emerged from my doctoral research and has since evolved into an applied research and software project connecting academic theory with practical implementation.
SMART Compass translates research on entrepreneurial coaching into an applied diagnostic and software project. It helps aspiring founders make their current support needs visible, gives coaches a structured workspace that keeps assessments, roadmaps, context, and next steps available, and gives early-stage support organizations a reliable basis for continuity and learning across engagements.
The underlying method, its five dimensions, an application example, and its distinction from SMART goals are documented on the SMART model in entrepreneurial coaching page.
SMART Compass is designed for aspiring founders and entrepreneurial teams in the idea, pre-founding, and early venture-creation phases. Coach access is provided through an organization — both for coaches working independently and for coaches working within economic development agencies, incubators, universities, entrepreneurship centers, technology-transfer offices, and similar early-stage founder-support programs. Scale-ups, accelerator programs, and later-stage growth management are not the primary focus.
The SMART model was developed inductively through qualitative research using semi-structured interviews with entrepreneurial coaches in Germany and subsequently examined across anglophone contexts. It is a process typology: it describes functions of coaching, not whether a venture will succeed.
Hagedorn, A. (under review, 2026). A Process-Based Typology of Entrepreneurial Coaching Functions: The SMART Model. Submitted to the International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing (IJEV).
Further publications on entrepreneurial coaching mechanisms and founder development are currently in preparation.
The SMART model and all associated content are based on Hagedorn (2017) and are protected by copyright. Use for research, teaching, and non-commercial purposes is permitted with proper attribution.
Attribution required: Any use of the SMART model — whether in publications, presentations, or software — must include a reference to Hagedorn (2017).
No resale: Commercial resale, sublicensing, or unmodified commercialisation of the model or this software is not permitted.
For commercial partnerships and licensing enquiries, please contact: a.hagedorn@smartcompass.app