Abstract
We conceptualise the mitigating role of trait core confidence on psychological distress in entrepreneurship manifested by occupational stress, anxiety, and depression. To facilitate field research, we first developed a short trait core confidence scale and validated it in six independent samples (N = 2,434). To test our hypothesis that trait core confidence negatively relates to base‐line levels of psychological distress as well as reduces fluctuations of distress in entrepreneurship, we collected data from a three‐day entrepreneurial event called Startup Weekend across seven occasions in the United States.