Abstract

While the structural barriers that entrepreneurs face are emphasized in the literature, the psychological challenges they experience are commonly overshadowed (Gorgievski & Stephan, 2016). Among these, the imposter phenomenon (IP) – the belief that one is less competent than others judge (Clance & Imes, 1978) - is especially pervasive. Although IP and its association with negative outcomes, including diminished wellbeing, have been extensively studied within structured organizational contexts, considerably less attention has been devoted to entrepreneurs who operate outside these formal conditions (Barr-Walker et al., 2020). This leaves a critical gap, as entrepreneurs work under conditions of high uncertainty (Bockorny & Youssef-Morgan, 2019), limited feedback (Fisher et al., 2020), and ambiguous role expectations (Ladge et al., 2019), all factors that heighten vulnerability to IP. This study therefore asks: How do entrepreneurs frame and cope with the imposter phenomenon?

Guided by Conservation of Resources theory (Hobfoll, 1989), IP is conceptualized as a resource‑depleting stressor that shapes entrepreneurial wellbeing and examines how entrepreneurs frame and cope with it through a thematic analysis of 25 podcasts in which entrepreneurs discuss IP. The results show that they commonly portray it as an ordinary and enduring part of entrepreneurship, experienced primarily as a cognitive response shaped by social and environmental context, with both detrimental and motivating effects. Entrepreneurs rely on acceptance‑based, cognitive, and social coping strategies to mitigate its impact, and gender differences emerge, with women describing more negative and nuanced experiences. These findings extend IP research beyond formal organizational settings, highlight how entrepreneurs make sense of and manage IP over time, and offer practical insights for supporting entrepreneurial wellbeing and persistence.