HERF 2026- Health in Entrepreneurship Research Forum

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Health in Entrepreneurship Research Forum

The Health in Entrepreneurship Research Forum is an annual international platform dedicated to understanding how entrepreneurial activity affects and is affected by physical, mental, and social wellbeing. The Forum is aimed at researchers and doctoral students in entrepreneurship, management, psychology, health sciences, public health, and related disciplines.

The HERF emerged in response to growing evidence that entrepreneurs and self-employed individuals face distinctive health trade-offs, including elevated stress, burnout, and complex work-health resource decisions, despite often enjoying higher autonomy and satisfaction than traditional employees. Across its recent editions, the forum has highlighted how founder health affects venture performance, innovation, and broader economic outcomes, and how well-designed support systems can mitigate risks and enhance resilience.

The Forum has:

Convened a focused international community from multiple disciplines and countries to share cutting-edge research and develop joint projects.
Featured keynotes, panels, paper sessions, and doctoral activities that help consolidate and advance an emerging field at the intersection of entrepreneurship and health.

Previous editions have brought together a small, highly engaged group of scholars, doctoral students, practitioners, and policymakers to explore the health implications of founding, growing, and sustaining entrepreneurial ventures, and to discuss how to support entrepreneurs more effectively.

The 2026 Forum in Paris continues this trajectory by spotlighting intervention research and evidence-based practice, emphasizing not only the description of health challenges but also the design and rigorous evaluation of interventions that improve health outcomes in entrepreneurial settings.

Keynote speakers

Ute Stephan,

Professor of Entrepreneurship at King’s Business School, King’s College London.

Dr. Ute’s research has won multiple international awards including the 2025 JIBS Decade award for her lead-authored paper ‘Institutions and Social Entrepreneurship’. She ranks among the top 2% of scientists worldwide based on citations to her work (Stanford study). She has been recognized for her scientific contributions as a Fellow of the International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP) and a 21st Century Entrepreneurship Fellow. Her research has attracted over £3 million in funding from the European Commission, the UK Government, UK research councils, charities, and German government institutions. She is regularly invited to give keynote addresses at leading international conferences (examples here) and is interviewed on topics of entrepreneurs’ mental well-being, the psychology of entrepreneurship, sustainability, and societal impact (examples here). Her research has often been featured in the media including the Financial Times, The Guardian, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, WIRED, BBC, AlJazeera, Bloomberg, and others.

Michael A. Freeman,

Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, U.C. San Francisco School of Medicine.

Dr. Michael Freeman – MD, DMH, is a psychiatrist, entrepreneurship researcher and integrated behavioral healthcare systems consultant. His groundbreaking work has forever changed our understanding of the entrepreneurial mind, and has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall St. Journal, Fortune Magazine, Inc., Entrepreneur, CNN Money, Financial Times and Bloomberg News. As an entrepreneur and former CEO who was trained in psychology, biological psychiatry, health policy, business and public health, Dr. Freeman brings medical, psychological, strategic and operational competencies to his medical and entrepreneurial consulting practices. Clinical Professor, UCSF School of Medicine / Mentor, The Entrepreneurship Center at UCSF / Chief Medical Officer, Trigger Health – Dr. Freeman co-authored a study on entrepreneurial personality, mood, and human factors common in StartUps: “Are Entrepreneurs Touched With Fire?”

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