Exploring founder identity tension, resolution, and venture pursuit

Figures & data

Table 1. Arts and commercial logics of practice.

Competing logics	Key descriptions
Field	Esthetic performance versus economic market orientation (Eikhof & Haunschild, 2006, Eikhof & Haunschild, 2007) Creation of new genres, formats and products versus economic viability (DeFillippi et al., 2007)
Organization	Spontaneous and unstructured versus planned and organized (Stinchfield et al., 2013) Temporary, freelance, or project-based versus homogenous, formalized production (DeFillippi et al., 2007; Eikhof & Warhurst, 2013)
Individual	Autonomy and self-expression versus commercial utility (Beech et al., 2012; Demetry, 2017; Hackley & Kover, 2007) Idealism versus pragmatism (Bain, 2005)

Table 2. Case profiles.

Case	Degree, application for venture	Key event timeline	Employ. (Q1, 2015)	Employ. (Q1, 2018)	Venture trajectory	Key trajectory activities	Data collection*
Adam	Graphic design Used design knowledge to design, make, and retail bags.	2010–2012: Adam graduated art school, worked full-time doing graphic design and made and sold bags from recycled material in his spare time. 2012–2013: Venture relaunched with an official product range and online selling platform. 2013–2014: Adam moved to working full-time, hired a couple of employees on the business, and sales steadily increased. 2015: Adam took on external investment and moved to a larger premise to scale production. 2016–2018: Venture sales increased, product range increased, and products began stocking in global retailers. Hired three more employees.	4	7	Growth	Appointed board of directors to oversee the 2016 investment. Increased list of stockists. Curated events to expand product reach. Collaborated with recognized brands.	3 semi-structured interviews Site visits 19 media articles Monthly newsletter.
Amy	Sculpture and Environmental Design Used knowledge and skills with laser and CNC cutting machines to offer services, design, manufacture, and retail furniture.	2012–2014: Amy recognized an opportunity to provide laser cutting and CNC services while studying at art school; she set up the venture while working part-time. 2015: The venture slowly expanded through purchasing new machines and expanding service offerings. First employee hired. 2016: Sales increase of 25% and expansion through designing, manufacturing, and selling a new product range. 2016–2018: Sales increase, new employees, and online shop setup.	2	4	Growth	Designed and developed a new product range. Launched crowd-funding campaign to increase production capacity of venture. Setup an online shop to sell new products.	3 semi-structured interviews Site visits 8 media articles Monthly newsletter.
Frankie	Product design Used design skills to create online directory for craft makers.	2012–2014: The venture idea was a final year art project, which Frankie received arts funding to create and build. 2014–2015: Frankie joined and then left a technology incubator and accelerator program to take the venture in a nonprofit direction. 2016: Frankie packaged her online platform so others could start open-access directories in other locations. 2017–2018: The platform launched in several locations across the globe and a couple of other online tools for creative practitioners.	2	2	Sustain arts	Made her online platform available via a creative commons license, with several new regions launched. Collaborated with social ventures to launch two more online platforms aimed at promoting local artisan makers.	3 semi-structured interviews Site visits 11 articles 15 blog posts 4 video blogs Monthly newsletter Business plan.
Mandy	Textile design Setup arts boutique store and gallery to showcase her work.	2009–2011: Mandy realized there was an opportunity to set up a shop and studio for artists to work and sell their products through a central location and via pop-up shops. 2011–2013: Mandy stopped selling her own products through the venture and relocated the business to a central arts center to be at the heart of the creative community. 2013–2014: Venture experienced steady sales increase and became sustainable. Mandy hired two employees and focused her attention on her own design work. 2015–2018: Mandy focused her work on finding new projects and collaborations.	3	3	Sustain arts	Received funding and started doing “Meet your Maker” workshops with artists and designers that are stocked in her shop. Focused on another venture aimed at designing and promoting textiles.	3 semi-structured interviews Site visits 7 media articles 15 blog posts.
Mark	Graphic design Set up bookshop to display work and design skills to publish.	2012–2014: Mark recognized a need for self-publishers, mainly artists, to display and sell their work. He opened a voluntary nonprofit store in the back of café/music venue. 2015–2016: Mark moved into a smaller premise and increased the number of book launches, fair, and art expeditions that they were able to do. Several new people joined the organization. 2016–2018: Mark focused on new projects and collaborations, publishing several books.	5	5	Sustain arts	Launched a publishing venture, aiming to showcase artistic work. Run a number of workshops and events at various creative arts festivals.	3 semi-structured interviews Site visits 9 media articles.
Sally	Service design Used service design degree to set up agency.	2010–2011: Sally launched her service design company with a business partner and slowly began to attract customers for small commissions. 2012–2013: The size of contracts began to increase, and first few employees were hired, tension started to arise between the business partners. 2014–2015: Among cash flow problems, Sally bought out her business partner and took the venture in a new direction. 2016: Sally formalized service offerings, opened a second premises in London, and won larger contracts. She hired multiple new employees to meet this expansion. 2017–2018: The venture continued to grow with multiple new employees hired.	10	24+	Growth	Successfully moved into second premises at second location. Expanded into international markets and started working with Fortune 500 companies.	3 semi-structured interviews, site visits 10 media articles 29 blog posts 8 video blogs Strategic planning documents Monthly newsletter.
Steve and Ava	Photography Fine art Used baking as a visual medium and set up artisan bakery.	2012–2013: Quitting their jobs in the arts, Steve and Ava started baking home goods while gaining experience in other commercial bakeries. 2013–2014: Working from their home kitchen they grew a large following around their neighborhood and begin supplying local cafes. 2015–2016: Steve and Ava moved into their first premises, hiring their first employees. They decided to stop selling wholesale and started hosting workshops. 2017–2018: On the back of huge success, Steve and Ava decided to close the business, rejecting a trade sale.	6	0	Sustain arts	Closed business to travel and take-up residencies at various bakeries throughout Europe.	3 semi-structured interviews Site visits 18 media articles 9 blog posts.

*Site visits included visiting ventures for interviews, unofficial interactions with people who knew the participants, or small unofficial interactions with participants. This contact was not recorded, but notes were taken and helped with forming the wider context for cases.

Figure 1. Data structure.

Figure 2. A model of identity tension, resolution, and enactment.

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