Start-Up business is now a widespread form of starting a business, and is a way that is mostly preferred among younger entrepreneurs. In general, the lack of financial resources and the initial enthusiasm of the whole team over an innovative project is often a feature of this form of entrepreneurial activity. Companies in the current market face many challenges, such as the globalization of markets and technologies. The supply of products available to consumers is increasing, and therefore the competitive environment is changing. In order to continue to develop in such conditions, companies need to differentiate their offers from those of their direct competitors. Therefore, innovation plays a crucial role in creating competitive advantage. Each company has a certain form of competitive advantage; however, despite this fact, due to constant changes in the market, this advantage worsens, forcing companies to innovate and apply innovation models to preserve existing advantages or create new ones. The presented article analyzes the implementation process of innovation model within startups; and identifies key success factors of start-ups in a competitive environment.