When a group of people starts a company, the founders usually serve as

Nice defender assumption question.
First of all, when we see this kind of question, a correct answer is the one that could eliminate the weakness of a conclusion.

ANALYZE THE STIMULUS:

Fact: When a group of people starts a company, the founders usually serve as sources both of funding and of skills in marketing, management, and technical matters.
Fact: It is unlikely that a single individual can both provide adequate funding and be skilled in marketing, management, and technical matters.
Conclusion: companies founded by groups are more likely to succeed than companies founded by individuals.

Pre-thinking: what if a single founder who only has funding can hire non-founder members who have skills in marketing, management and technical matters? Clearly, a company can be successful. <==This is a weakness of the conclusion.

Assumption: The defender assumption should eliminate the weakness above.
Thus, the assumption should be “it is likely that a company founded by an individual, who often hires non-founder members having skills in business, is less successful than a company founded by group of founders.

ANALYZE EACH ANSWER:

A) A new company is more likely to succeed if every founding member contributes equally to the company’s initial funding than if some members contribute more funds than others.
Wrong. The equal contribution does not help to bolster the conclusion. A can’t be an assumption.

B) Some founding members of successful companies can provide both funding and skills in marketing, management, or technical matters.
Wrong. B does not violate the conclusion. It’s true that some founding members can provide both funding and skills. But B does not help to elucidate why companies founded by groups are more likely to be successful than companies founded by individuals.

C) New companies are more likely to succeed when their founders can provide adequate funding and skills in marketing, management, and technical abilities than when they must secure funding or skills from non-founders.
Correct. C clearly ELIMINATES the weakness of the conclusion. C is the correct defender assumption.

D) Founders of a new company can more easily acquire marketing and management abilities than technical abilities.
Wrong. Nothing to compare here. D is out scope.

E) A new company is more likely to succeed if its technical experts are also skilled in management and marketing than if they lack management or marketing skills.
Wrong. Same error as in D. The comparison between each founding members does not help at all. E is not relevant.

Hope it helps a bit.

I go with "E".

C and E are best contenders. In C it is saying about non founders which is not at all mentioned in the argument.

How can E be a contender?

Conculsion of the argument: companies founded by groups are more likely to succeed than companies founded by individuals.

E says a new company is likely to succeed if its technical experts are also skilled in management and marketing than if they lack management or marketing skills. Negating this answer choice would in no way hurt the conclusion that is mainly concerned with the likelihood of the success of companies founded by groups.

In contrast, choice C says that new companies are more likely to succeed when their founders can provide adequate funding and skills in marketing, management, and technical abilities than when they must secure funding or skills from nonfounders. Ah yes. Now this choice assures the success of new companies if their founders can provide adequate funding and skills in marketing, management and technical abilities. Moreover, if you negate this choice, the conclusion definitely falls apart. Hence this is the best choice.

Do you agree?

It seems logical.
But argument is

companies founded by groups are more likely to succeed than companies founded by individuals.


Founded by groups / Founded by individuals


So (C) which is about non-founders seems irrelevant for me.


Please experts help.


mikemcgarry

Can an expert please give an explanation as to why the answer is C? Thanks!

When a group of people starts a company, the founders usually serve as sources both of funding and of skills in marketing, management, and technical matters. It is unlikely that a single individual can both provide adequate funding and be skilled in marketing, management, and technical matters. Therefore, companies founded by groups are more likely to succeed than companies founded by individuals.

Which one of the following is an assumption required by the argument?

{Gaps that are evident in the argument: 1) What if individual founders are able to secure funding, expertise, etc. from outside? 2) What if ONLY people with more than adequate money, skills, and expertise start a company as individual founders?}


(A) A new company is more likely to succeed if every founding member contributes equally to the company’s initial funding than if some members contribute more funds than others.
- INCORRECT. Whether they contribute equally or not equally might not matter at all, as no such indication is given in the argument.

(B) Some founding members of successful companies can provide both funding and skills in marketing, management, or technical matters.
- IRRELEVANT.

(C) New companies are more likely to succeed when their founders can provide adequate funding and skills in marketing, management, and technical abilities than when they must secure funding or skills from nonfounders.
- CORRECT! This is in line with our pre-thinking.

(D) Founders of a new company can more easily acquire marketing and management abilities than technical abilities.
- IRRELEVANT

(E) A new company is more likely to succeed if its technical experts are also skilled in management and marketing than if they lack management or marketing skills.
- True in general, but doesn't need to be assumed in this argument.

Answer C.

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