Insights From

Effectuation: The Logic of Expert Entrepreneurs

The Middle Class of Business: Building Enduring Ventures

Professor Saras Sarasvathy discusses the virtues of the “middle class of business,” what she calls enduring companies that grow steadily but not massively and that create jobs and spur economies. Teaching entrepreneurship is akin to teaching the scientific method to those who aren’t scientists, and the mindset can help solve problems in the world.

Leveraging Uncertainty During The Pandemic: Lessons From Expert Entrepreneurs

While the future has always been unpredictable, the global uncertainty caused by the novel coronavirus is at a record high. To help us steer through this unprecedented crisis, Professor Saras Sarasvathy shares insights on entrepreneurial decision-making and offers four strategies seasoned founders use to turn uncertainty into opportunity.

Rethinking the Pivot: New Perspectives on Startup Gospel

The “pivot” has become part of startup lexicon. But pivot-thinking may not work for all companies, and substantially changing an organization’s strategy can be difficult and expensive for entrepreneurs. Darden experts weigh in.

Q&A: Darden Professor Cracks the Code of How Great Entrepreneurs Think

How do successful entrepreneurs think? Darden Professor Saras Sarasvathy discusses her study of “effectuation” and the unique logic expert entrepreneurs employ to create the future, rather than simply predict it.

EPIC: An Effectuation Boot Camp for Startups in Bangalore

To learn the reality of building a business, an entrepreneurship boot camp in Bangalore puts into practice Saras Sarasvathy’s principles of effectuation.

Empowerment Through Ideas: Teaching Effectuation in Pakistan

Dr. Shahid Qureshi is determined to make the world a better place through effectuation, the set of principles for entrepreneurial decision-making developed by Darden’s Professor Saras Sarasvathy, based on a rigorous study of expert entrepreneurs.

Making the Ask, Part 2: Practical Steps to Entrepreneurial Expertise

When potential stakeholders don’t fit into categories such as an investor or a supplier, novice entrepreneurs often don’t approach them. Effectual asks, however, allow people to become involved with startups in many different ways.

Making the Ask, Part 1: The Key to Entrepreneurial Success

You can’t always get what you want, but if you ask, you just might get what you need. Seasoned entrepreneurs seem to know this intuitively, and according to new research from Darden, they get what they need because they live by the mantra “Always be asking.”

The Emerging Power of the Entrepreneurial Method

Darden Professor Saras Sarasvathy groundbreaking research launched a new way of looking at the entrepreneurial method, once thought to be unteachable. Since then, dozens of articles and books have built on her work, and in turn have reshaped the landscape of how entrepreneurship is taught, researched and practiced.