I am Andreana Drencheva. Most people call me Addy. This is my (mostly neglected) home on the web. Welcome.
I work as a Lecturer in Entrepreneurship at the University of Sheffield, where I aim to help individuals and organisations to create positive social change on a small or large scale. This includes three areas of work: research, learning and development, and collaboration.
My research is focused on entrepreneurship as a social process and its foundations in human action. New ventures are not the result of a single individual pursuing a big idea, but the development of long ideas to which many individuals and organisations make formal and informal contributions.
My current research investigates:
- Who are the social entrepreneurs?
- What are the tensions and contradictions entrepreneurs experience?
- How do entrepreneurs seek feedback when creating and leading new organisations?
- How do social entrepreneurs develop, change, and innovate business models for sustainable social change?
- How does social entrepreneurship contribute to youth-led approaches to civil society?
- What is the individual and community impact of artists’ use of temporary spaces?
- What are mission-driven art organisations and how do they thrive?
- How do contextual factors, such as culture and religion, influence entrepreneurship?
I aim to develop learning and development experiences that challenge individuals and organisations to grow. At the intersection of entrepreneurship, innovation, and leadership, my learning experiences are evidence-based, flexible, and tailored to the needs of individuals and organisations. Whether I work with high school, MSc, and MBA students or new and established social and commercial entrepreneurs over a weekend, a week, a semester or a year, I take an empathetic approach that translates knowledge into action. I am also a learner and take an active approach to my personal development as a Senior Fellow of AdvanceHE (previously Higher Education Academy) (SFHEA).
I collaborate with different incubators, accelerators, and foundations to co-create services, programmes, and tools to support potential and early stage entrepreneurs, especially social and youth entrepreneurs. I specialise in co-creating evidence-based, flexible, and tailored learning and support experiences that meet the needs of individuals and organisations in an engaging and actionable way.
As a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA), I am interested in working with ventures that put people and purpose first and enhance the possibilities for living of communities in sustainable ways through social entrepreneurship and innovation.
I also write for the general media, including The Alpine Review, The Guardian, Sustainable Brands, The Happy Startup School, and Leaders Now.
On a more personal note, I like chocolate, dogs, books, sticky notes, Moleskine notebooks, sangria, and sunny days.
If you find anything here interesting and think it might be a good idea to collaborate on a project, participate in my research, meet for coffee or chat about ideas, get in touch.