Research Philosophy
Many of the arguments in entrepreneurship scholarship today are less important to me than they are to many others. Whether opportunities are created or discovered, whether entrepreneurs are somehow ‘different’ than other people, and whether the business plan is dead or not make no difference to me. I don’t even care if theory or data comes first, so long as we get a useful answer. What does concern me is how to create more entrepreneurship at the individual and collective levels. This does make one high level debate important to me, specifically is entrepreneurship ‘good’ or not. It’s obvious I’ve taken a side on that one.
My research agenda is driven by a few key questions. They are:
- Will knowing the answer to this question really help me to make more or better entrepreneurs?
- Will knowing the answer to this question make it easier for someone to venture?
- Will knowing the answer to this question make a venture more successful?
- Will knowing the answer to this question give us some usable insight into how to shape public policy?
- Will knowing the answer to this question blow my mind?
I know that last one seems kind of out of place. But I would be remiss if I didn’t include it. There is room for wonder in the universe, and there are wonderful discoveries to be made in entrepreneurship. Spending part of my research time on something that might surprise and delight me and my fellow scholars doesn’t seem too selfish I hope.
Research Interests
My research interests are in aspects of entrepreneurship that are critical to making entrepreneurial opportunities more broadly available, more likely to succeed, and more successful when they do. These include entrepreneurial design theory, solopreneurship and side hustling, crowdfunding, forgiving business models, and public policy as it relates to entrepreneurship.
Presentations