Background: In the modern world, there has been increasing awareness of urgent global issues such as climate change, biodiversity loss, poverty, and hunger. To make a positive difference, individuals should consider the values of humans that influence decisions and actions to pursue a more sustainable future through sustainable entrepreneurship (SE). It distinguishes itself from conventional entrepreneurship by prioritizing addressing environmental and social issues through entrepreneurial activities. The literature on SE shows that the percentage of sustainable companies is small, and more awareness needs to be raised. However, the values of sustainable entrepreneurs can offer benefits and advantages to individuals, society, the environment, and the long term.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to extend existing research on values in SE by exploring the values that influenced entrepreneurs in establishing a sustainable business and identifying patterns in their values to help practitioners, such as policymakers or educators, develop legal frameworks or adjusting the school structures to foster SE, thus sustainable development.

Method: To fulfill our research purpose, we conducted a qualitative and exploratory study with ten founders of sustainable businesses. We conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews, which enabled us to gain a deeper understanding of the subject and develop a theoretical framework for the range of values that motivate entrepreneurs to start a sustainable business.

Conclusion: The study showed that sustainable entrepreneurs had six values that prompted them to start a sustainable business. The findings implied that sustainable entrepreneurs had three distinctive values, such as the desire for positive change, future orientation, and enjoyment. On the contrary, three values such as action orientation, independence, and success were discovered, which are the values shared by both sustainable entrepreneurs and traditional entrepreneurs. Ultimately, a conceptual framework was developed depicting the discovered values of sustainable entrepreneurs.