Purpose: Many startups face the complex anticipation of offering value sustainably over the long term yet must test market engagement to evaluate an economically viable business model in the near term. This study aims to capture the usefulness of a business model innovation method (Flourishing Startup Method) aligned with sustainability-as-flourishing thinking as perceived by entrepreneurs during the early stages of enterprise development. 

Design/Methodology/Approach: Through action research, the utility of the approach was evaluated through multiple applications across two events with a total of 64 entrepreneurs taking place 2017-2018. 

Findings: The research revealed insights related to the reaction that Flourishing Startup Method and its facilitation including the intention to use beyond the events, their perceived learning utility, as well as the overall perceived utility in terms of usefulness and ease of use. The study also showed that to get the full advantages of all those four aspects of the Flourishing Startup Method, entrepreneurs must have more time and facilitated opportunities to develop a minimum level of proficiency in a set of entrepreneurial competencies to address the business model for sustainability-as-flourishing capability gap.

Originality/Value: This research contributes to understanding the process of business model innovation with novel and impactful business models towards sustainability-as-flourishing models and offers one of few empirical investigations on aspects of a business model innovation method to identify its utility during the early stages of their startup development.