On 11 October 2023, the article entitled “A model of social responsibility for startups: developing a cross-fertilisation of responsible innovation, the lean start-up approach, and the quadruple helix approach”, written by Mark Ryan, Eugen Octav Popa, Vincent Blok, Andrea Declich, Maresa Berliri, Alfonso Alfonsi and Simeon Veloudis, was published in the Journal of Responsible Innovation. The article presents the main theoretical elements underpinning the Model developed during the RRIstart project, consisting of 24 indicators and 7 worksheets. The text represents a first theoretical reflection on the complex issue of the adoption by STEM start-ups of a responsible approach in the process of creating a business and an entrepreneurial group and of defining a product or service.