Background: In order to create and grow a successful start-up, entrepreneurs need a variety of resources. To obtain these easier, many entrepreneurs move to entrepreneurial ecosystems (EE), where resources are abundant and more accessible. Moreover, being close to target markets gets less relevant, as globalization and digitalization enable one to easily sell products and services worldwide. As a result, we can observe a new phenomenon that we call starling entrepreneurs. These are foreign entrepreneurs moving to an EE to benefit from its resources in order to serve one or various foreign markets. They are different from existing concepts in literature as they do not specifically come to the EE to enter the local market. Additionally, they are newcomers and foreigners in the EE, lacking local embeddedness.

Purpose: Our purpose is to build a theory on how starling entrepreneurs navigate the new EE and mobilize resources. This way, we introduce the concept of starling entrepreneurs to the entrepreneurship literature.

Method: We took a qualitative approach to this research. It is designed as an explorative single case study and situated in the context of the EE in Lisbon, Portugal. For data analysis, we chose the Gioia method for grounded analysis.

Conclusion: The results show that starling entrepreneurs navigate the EE by integrating themselves during the first weeks and building the foundation to access resources. We call this building a new nest. They then leverage this nest to mobilize the resources within the EE. However, to our surprise, we also acknowledged that starling entrepreneurs preserve nests abroad to mobilize resources outside the EE. Our study contributes to knowledge on how resources are mobilized within EEs and how networks of weak ties enable entrepreneurs to get access to a large resource pool. It gives practical implications for starlings who thrive to get a competitive advantage by mobilizing a wide range of resources, as well as policymakers who want to attract starling entrepreneurs.