Ask for it: A practice based theory of venturing design

Abstract

Building on several studies of actions and interactions in the daily practices of entrepreneurs, I develop six principles of venturing design based on the ask, with the pitch bring one specific subset of the ask. Deliberate practice of the ask has been argued to lead to the development of entrepreneurial expertise. I link that to a theoretical examination of how asks can help navigate the prediction-control space. In doing so, I illustrate specific aspects of asking through practical examples from entrepreneurial actions that have been shown to be part of venturing.