ABSTRACT
Entrepreneurs operate in different market, industry, geographical, and time contexts, work with different team members or advisors, engage with different customers. One might presume that a similar null-hypothesis logic applies to entrepreneurial success, meaning that in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, it is down to a random, fortunate constellation of events. Accepting the role of luck in entrepreneurial success can be seen as a gateway to a more extreme position, namely that entrepreneurship itself is a random process, tantamount to pulling the lever of a slot machine. Luck refers to things that happen outside of our control and outside the realm of reasoned action, and that have positive or negative consequences for entrepreneurial efforts. The social complexity of the entrepreneurial process reflects the fact that success and failure ultimately depend on the commitment of others. In the entrepreneurial journey, the non-routine tasks dominate its early stages as the venture seeks a solid foundation, a viable business model.
