“…Many established and better-resourced firms were struggling to survive in an economic sense as they faced restricted trading conditions, new challenges associated with innovation and patenting activities, reduced income streams and liquidity crises (Cowling et al ., 2020; Larson, 2021; Brown and Cowling, 2021). However, the pandemic also affected firms in a non-financial direction, psychologically impacting all employees, business owners and overall well-being (Yue and Cowling, 2021; Stephan et al ., 2021, 2022). Despite the that setting up a new business in the midst of a global Covid-19 pandemic does not appear on the face of it to be a great idea, many individuals living in the UK also exploited new business opportunities and established new ventures as a response to the considerable consumer and market shifts (Brown et al ., 2020; Jallow et al ., 2020; Bentall et al ., 2021).…”