<p>A startup’s approach to the knowledge acquisition process and its implementation are identified as significant determinants of business outcomes. This paper aims in investigating how technological knowledge (TK) is acquired by startups and what impact it has on business performance. The study draws upon qualitative data from interviews with 16 experts and a survey among 253 Polish startups. Qualitative analysis was performed using coding, thematic analysis, and concept network analysis. In quantitative research, we employ the nonparametric procedures: the Mann-Whitney U-test and the Kruskal-Wallis test followed by the Dunn test for multiple pairwise comparisons with the Bonferroni correction. Six research hypotheses were operationalized and empirically tested. Advancing the Knowledge-Based View (KBV), the study provides empirical support for the critical role of acquiring TK by startups. Our research also contributes to the KBV by analyzing the TK acquisition process and the importance of the startups’ ability to absorb this knowledge from the perspective of business success. The results provide strong evidence that representatives of startups with greater business experience or higher education levels assign greater importance to acquiring TK. Acquiring TK enables startups to achieve higher business performance. For startup managers, the study highlights the strategic importance of acquiring TK and emphasizes that awareness of the acquisition and utilization processes contributes to building a dynamic growth strategy.</p>