Karlien Coppens is doctor assistant at Ghent University within the field of Entrepreneurship. Her doctoral and post-doctoral research sheds light on when and how entrepreneurs persist with their distressed ventures and the impact of such distress experiences on their subsequent thriving as entrepreneur. In addition, she investigates the role of business support initiatives. Her research is in collaboration with Dyzo, a Flemish support agency for distressed ventures, and has been presented at national and international conferences. She further provides student support for the courses business planning, entrepreneurship and business administration.