When the unexpected becomes valuable

Penicillin is often cited as a classic example of serendipitous discovery: something unexpected was noticed, interpreted and turned into something valuable. Similar stories can be told about many commercially successful innovations. But what happens when serendipity does not simply lead to a new product or service, but changes someone’s professional life in an unexpected way?

A chance request, an informal conversation or an unexpected encounter may lead someone towards a venture they had never planned to start. The event itself is only part of the story. What matters is how people interpret what happened and what they do next.

This is the question at the heart of our study. We followed the stories of three immigrant entrepreneurs in Finland whose ventures emerged from situations they had not anticipated. None followed a straightforward path from business idea to business plan. Instead, each encountered an unexpected possibility and took small steps forward, discovering along the way what it could become. 

Their stories help us understand how serendipity, critical events and effectuation come together. How does someone who never saw themselves as an entrepreneur end up starting a business? And how can an entrepreneur find themselves building a venture they never set out to create?

Turning points hiding in plain sight

It can all start with an unplanned encounter.

Sam discovered a niche-market opportunity after a friend asked him to modify a product using an unfamiliar component. What seemed like a one-off request eventually led to an innovation and a new venture in a market previously wholly unknown to him.

Ginger was developing her own idea in an incubator when a conversation with another team revealed that her experience could be combined with their resources. She had thought her past experience would remain in the past, but this encounter eventually led to developing two ventures.

Sarah, who had never thought of herself as an entrepreneur, joined a startup after realising in an unplanned conversation that her experience complemented the team’s technical expertise.

At first, these encounters could easily have remained ordinary, unplanned moments: the kind that pass unnoticed every day. What made them serendipitous and critical was not simply that they happened, but the way Sam, Ginger and Sarah recognised their potential and acted on it. Only in retrospect can we see them as critical events: moments that redirected their career paths and helped trigger unforeseen ventures.

Serendipity needs action

Serendipity is often associated with a lucky event or discovery, but an unexpected encounter alone is not enough.  Someone has to notice its potential, make a connection and do something with it. In that sense, serendipity is better understood as a process. 

This also means that serendipity is not passive. It depends on human agency. People actively interpret, connect, test and pursue unexpected possibilities.

This is where effectuation becomes central. Rather than starting with fixed goals and detailed business plans, Sam, Ginger and Sarah explored the opportunities opened by serendipitous events through available resources, low-threshold experimentation, social networks and alliances. In our study, we call this process “effectuation-enabled serendipity”.

Sam’s experimental mindset helped him revisit what first looked like a one-off request. After a social media post revealed customer interest, he tested the component in other products, used his networks and developed a niche-market venture.

Ginger agreed to give the new idea a try after realizing that her past experience complemented the team’s resources and that they could start by doing everything themselves. As the business progressed, she later brought the same team into her original venture.

Sarah was interested in startups but had not imagined becoming an entrepreneur. After recognising that her expertise could help the team, she joined, judging that possible failure would not be fatal. The team continued developing the business through networking.

What is important to notice is that Sam, Ginger and Sarah did not eliminate uncertainty. Instead, they made it manageable. They did this by experimenting, using resources already at hand, building relationships and considering what they could afford to lose. They remained open to contingencies, making adjustments based on feedback and emerging situations.

In other words, they acted because the serendipitous entrepreneurial opportunity felt possible without requiring an unacceptable level of risk. They moved forward by testing ideas, combining resources and involving others.

Why this matters

Serendipity, critical events and effectuation have often been treated as distinct concepts in entrepreneurship research. Our study shows the value of bringing them together: critical events can be understood as part of serendipitous processes, while effectuation helps explain how these processes unfold into unexpected ventures. Serendipity, then, is a process involving both unexpected events and purposeful action.

From a practical perspective, entrepreneurial support environments can increase the likelihood of productive serendipity. Incubators, student entrepreneurship societies, networking events, micro-funding, pitching competitions and informal communities can create spaces where unexpected encounters become actionable entrepreneurial opportunities.

Author bio

Helen Reijonen is a University Lecturer in Entrepreneurial Marketing at the University of Eastern Finland. Her research interests include entrepreneurship, SME marketing, strategic orientations and sustainability-related consumption.