ENTREPRENEURIAL JOURNEYS: A GENDERED AND SCALED ANALYSIS OF CHALLENGES AND SUPPORT SYSTEMS FOR BUSINESS OWNERS

Entrepreneurship is widely recognized as a key driver of innovation, employment, and economic growth, yet entrepreneurial experiences are shaped by structural factors such as gender and business scale. This study examines entrepreneurial journeys through a gendered and scaled perspective to better understand how challenges and support systems evolve across stages of business development. Using a mixed-methods, exploratory research design, the study integrates a review of existing entrepreneurship literature with semi-structured interviews conducted with ten Indian-origin entrepreneurs operating in the United States. The findings reveal that entrepreneurs face pronounced resource constraints and legitimacy challenges during the launch phase, followed by increased operational and systemic complexity during growth. Informal support networks and self-funded or revenue-based financing strategies play a dominant role across stages. Although prior research documents persistent gender based disparities, interview participants largely perceived gender effects as indirect or structural rather than explicitly experienced. The study concludes that firm scale significantly moderates entrepreneurial challenges and access to support, highlighting the need for scale-sensitive policies and early-stage ecosystem interventions to foster more inclusive entrepreneurial environments.