Representing the entrepreneurial process with design in mind: walking the artefactual journey in space and time

Purpose This article synthesizes two strands of entrepreneurship discourse: the entrepreneurial design lens and the entrepreneurial narratives perspective to empirically reveal an introduced notion of an “artefactual journey” taken by a single entrepreneur. Design/methodology/approach A single longitudinal case reveals an entrepreneurs' sense of “design heuristics” related to venture development through an artefactual journey. “Walking and talking” interviews expose the interplay of past and future possibilities in the designed entrepreneurial environment. The narrative demonstrates movement between researcher observations, author interpretations and participant reflections. Questions are asked regarding the nature of design-led artefactual journeys – and the use of walking interviews – to better expose entrepreneurial design heuristics. Findings The utilization of space is informed by the entrepreneur's design heuristics drawing on past actions (resonance) and future projects (evocation), in entrepreneurial spaces. Findings inform an agential conceptualization of artefactual journeys in space and time and contribute to the entrepreneurial narratives perspective by empirically exposing inner narratives and exploring reflection and projection in context. A case is advanced to consider artefactual journeys as actualized opportunities. Originality/value The use of walking interviews offers methodological novelty and authenticity in uncovering movement through space and time. Theoretically, the article contributes to discussion as to how entrepreneurial agency links past and present in design actualization using ideas of reflection and projection that occur in a designed environment. Evocation and resonance are presented as the contextually attuned cognition of entrepreneurs reflecting a designed environment to imagine the future of their enterprises.