Driven by Life-Shocks

The role of exposure to life-shock experiences such as civil wars genocide or both in shaping the personality traits of individual entrepreneurs and contributing to their success is receiving significant attention in entrepreneurship research. Some authors have even coined the term ''underdog entrepreneurs'' to describe those who have overcome personal adversity to become successful entrepreneurs. In this qualitative study we took a phenomenology approach. We conducted 25 in-person interviews with sub-Saharan African immigrants in Portland Maine who survived civil wars genocide or both in their countries of origin. Despite deviating from the traditional path of studying sub-Saharan African immigrant entrepreneurs our findings indicate that these individuals view their life-shock experiences as optimistic resources that have helped them build strong character and the capacity to successfully manage their businesses even during times of crisis or disruption.