This qualitative study explores how past traumatic events shape social entrepreneurial actions and social entrepreneurs’ well-being. Through an in-depth qualitative analysis of 14 cases, we uncover how social entrepreneurs implement social entrepreneurial activities as a coping approach for past traumatic events. We demonstrate how and why this coping approach influences the well-being of social entrepreneurs. Further, we find that founders professionalize the experience of trauma through their social ventures based on two approaches: a self-centered approach and an altruistic approach. By founding a social venture tackling the root cause of their trauma founders derive meaning from their experiences and, ultimately, contribute to overcoming societal challenges. By highlighting the interplay between traumatic events, social entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurial well-being, this study extends existing research on coping approaches in entrepreneurship.
