LoadingLoadingLoadingLoadingThis DBA thesis documents the conflict between fundraising calendars and doctoral milestones for 24 founders at FollowLap University. The workable model treated the firm as a research site with ethics constraints, not as a source of unlimited proprietary glory. Candidates who pre-registered what would be published versus what would stay in the board pack were more likely to pass confirmation. Candidates who tried to submit a pitch deck as a literature review were not. FollowLap should teach founder-scholars the difference between traction and contribution. Digital delivery is how a founder in Bengaluru or São Paulo stays with the company; the viva must still be a viva.