The Psychology of Entrepreneurship

Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey.

We are working on a project about the psychology of entrepreneurship, based on the lived experiences of entrepreneurs across different markets. The aim is to better understand the emotional, psychological, and practical challenges of building something of your own, especially in the early and uncertain stages.

Your responses will help identify patterns around transition, uncertainty, loneliness, resilience, support systems, and the internal barriers entrepreneurs often face.

This survey should take around 5-7 minutes to complete. Your answers will be used only in aggregated form.

Section 1: About You

1- Which market or country are you mainly operating in?

2- Which stage best describes your entrepreneurial journey?

To help us understand whether gender plays a role in psychological barriers related to entrepreneurship, we kindly ask you to specify your gender.

Section 2:

A- Transition from Corporate or Previous Career

Please answer each statement based on your own entrepreneurship experience.

Scale:
1 = Strongly disagree
2 = Disagree
3 = Neutral / Not sure
4 = Agree
5 = Strongly agree

3- My transition into entrepreneurship started from a place of clarity and choice.

4- I became an entrepreneur partly because my previous professional path no longer felt right for me.

5- Leaving a structured work environment affected my sense of identity more than I expected.

6- I missed the credibility that came with a title, company name, or established organisation.

B- Uncertainity & Decision Making

7- In the early stages, uncertainty affected my emotional state more than my actual workload did.

8- I often had to make important decisions before I felt fully ready.

9- I am comfortable moving forward without having a clear roadmap.

10- One of the hardest parts of entrepreneurship is not knowing whether I am making the right decisions.

C- Energy, Motivation, and Resilience

11- My energy and motivation have fluctuated significantly throughout my entrepreneurial journey.

12- I have experienced moments where I questioned whether I should continue.

13- Recovering from setbacks has required more emotional effort than I expected.

14- I have developed personal routines or practices that help me stay grounded during difficult periods.

D- The Emotional Part and the Support System

15- Entrepreneurship has felt lonelier than I expected.

16- I have a support system that understands the specific emotional challenges of entrepreneurship.

17- Some forms of “support” I received felt performative, transactional, or not genuinely helpful.

18- Having access to other entrepreneurs has helped me feel less alone.

E. Psychological Barriers

19- Fear of visibility has held me back at some point in my entrepreneurial journey.

20- Asking for money, selling, or pricing my work has been emotionally challenging.

21- I have struggled with comparing my progress to others.

22- The biggest challenge in entrepreneurship has been managing myself, not only managing the business.

23- Optional Reflection- Is there one psychological or emotional challenge in entrepreneurship that you wish people spoke about more honestly?