In short I would say the right value proposition that works with the right business model.

A good inspiration to go deeper would be this article explaining what are the top 20 reasons why startups fail. I believe many of these reasons are similar for any service design company.

And here another inspiration about the biggest reason why startups fail or succeed:



By understanding why others fail, you can avoid the same mistakes and hopefully get nearer to the success you dream for your service design company.

Check out all the questions about Service Design as a career.