Preparing for business start‐up: “pre‐start” activities in the new venture creation dynamic

Purpose The purpose of this research is to examine the activities and behaviours of potential entrepreneurs as they move towards engagement in business start‐up. Design/methodology/approach Based on in‐depth engagement with seven founders of new businesses, and informed by a review of the relevant literature. Findings A series of transitions towards business start‐up are identified, which in turn produced a five‐step framework for examining and understanding the “pre‐start” phase of preparation for entrepreneurship. Research limitations/implications The case‐based approach provided detailed and contextualised insight into how a small group of founders prepared for business start‐up. There may be a need to test the framework with a larger group of business founders to assess its wider relevance and applicability. Practical implications The pre‐start framework identifies how individuals progress towards start‐up, and so could be used as the basis for a programme to encourage individuals to move through each step towards engagement in business start‐up. The movement from step to step can also be used to assess overall levels of preparation for entrepreneurship within the wider population, and so has the potential to be a useful indicator of overall levels of entrepreneurial orientation. Originality/value The paper presents a process‐focused model of the pre‐start dynamic.