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VOL. 10, NO. 2 
FALL 2021 

 

Effectual Entrepreneurship in the Arts 
The Story of Austin Classical Guitar 

Jonathan Gangi 
Penn State University 

ABSTRACT: This article tells the incredible story of Austin Classical Guitar, provides 
empirical evidence supporting the efficacy of Sarasvathy’s effectual entrepreneurship 
principles within an arts context, and contributes to theory development for the field of 
entrepreneurship and the subfield arts entrepreneurship. Individuals and organizations 
can utilize the concepts, principles, and method illustrated in the organizational history 
of Austin Classical Guitar to launch and sustain successful arts ventures. Arts 
entrepreneurship educators and scholars are encouraged to consider effectuation a 
foundational building block for the subfield and incorporate it into their work. 
KEYWORDS: Arts Entrepreneurship, Effectual Entrepreneurship, Austin Classical 
Guitar. DOI: doi.org/10.34053/artivate.10.2.149 

Introduction 
Leading scholars (Welter, et al.) categorize entrepreneurship as an extraordinarily legitimate 
academic field possessing many theories, however, they call for open-mindedness as the 
phenomenon has not been exhaustively accounted for and research remains in an exploratory 
mode (Wang & Jessup, ; Fisher, ; Welter, Baker, Audretsch, & Gartner, ). The 
emergent sub-field of arts entrepreneurship, although perhaps in a pre-embryonic stage of 
theory development, can contribute unique perspectives to this exploration. Logically, some arts 
entrepreneurship researchers and educators base their work upon business entrepreneurship 
scholarship and pedagogy. Our sub-field, however, lacks empirical evidence supporting the 
assumption that general entrepreneurial theories and methods are effective for arts 
entrepreneurs. 

Effectual entrepreneurship is a paradigm-shifting theory and method within business 
entrepreneurship literature (Perry, Chandler, & Markova, ; Hendrick, ). Based upon 



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my personal experience as an artist, entrepreneur, and arts entrepreneurship pedagogue and on 
data from guest arts entrepreneurs telling their success stories to my students, I became 
convinced that effectuation is well-suited for our subfield. In a previous article, I suggested that 
effectuation could be a foundational building block for the field of arts entrepreneurship and 
called for an empirical examination of effectuation in an arts context (Gangi, ). 

Methodology 
Wanting to answer my call for empirical work, I conducted a qualitative study investigating how 
successful arts entrepreneurs create and sustain new arts ventures. The goal of the study was to 
examine the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of Saras Sarasvathy’s effectual entrepreneurship 
theory in an arts context. Using the theory elaboration tactic of horizontal contrasting, I sought 
to enhance the empirical adequacy of this entrepreneurial theory by illustrating the effectiveness 
of effectuation in a new context. The theory elaboration approach of horizontal contrasting “is 
the process of examining how an existing theoretical insight fits in a context different from that 
for which it was developed. . . . By examining whether a theory holds up empirically across 
different contexts through horizontal or vertical contrasting, theory elaboration can enhance 
the empirical adequacy of the theory” (Fisher & Aguinis, ). 

I then considered a rival theory, causation (the traditional predictive approach to new 
venture creation), as a possible better theoretical fit to the data collected. As I will demonstrate, 
of these two competing theories, effectuation is the theory that best fits the data. This critical 
question guided my study: How do successful arts entrepreneurs launch and sustain new 
ventures? 

Participants for this study were limited to successful arts entrepreneurs from the following 
arts disciplines: music, dance, visual arts, and theatre. Successful arts entrepreneurs are those 
who exhibit expertise in creating their own ventures and careers that generate the majority of 
their income. An expert is defined as someone who has attained a high level of performance in 
the domain as a result of years of experience (Foley & Hart, ) and deliberate practice 
(Ericsson, Krampe, & Tesch-Römer, ). 

Semi-structured telephone interviews were used for data collection and lasted 
approximately one hour. If and when needed, follow-up interviews were conducted for 
clarification purposes, either by phone or email. Audio recordings were used to preserve the 
interviews and during data analysis. Other data sources include websites, videos, and news 
articles. The key informants reviewed the specifics of their stories to verify and certify the 
accuracy of the real-world events. 

Study participants had no knowledge of effectual entrepreneurship and were intentionally 
asked very general questions, such as: How did you come up with your venture concept? How 
did you start your venture? This article provides the story of one study participant, Austin 
Classical Guitar, as empirical evidence for the efficacy of effectual entrepreneurship within an 
arts context. Only one study participant was chosen for this article due to the length of the story 
and richness of data gleaned from the long history of this arts organization. Prior to presenting 



ARTIVATE 10.2 

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the story, however, I provide an overview of the rival theories competing for the best explanation 
of the data. 

The Primary Entrepreneurship Theories: Causation versus Effectuation1 
Recent business entrepreneurship scholarship underscores a dichotomy forming between 
traditional entrepreneurial theories based on economic ideologies and emerging theories based 
on a cognitive science approach to decision making under uncertainty, among others (Fisher, 
). As a result, the field of entrepreneurship seems to have two formalized approaches to 
entrepreneurial theory: one focused on predicting a risky future (causation), and the other 
dealing with controlling an uncertain future. Effectuation is a theory and method grounded in 
cognitive science and focused on controlling an uncertain entrepreneurial future. 

The Entrepreneurial Problem Space 

Sarasvathy points out three types of problems when making future business decisions 
(Sarasvathy, a, b, ). When the future is predictable and all variables are known 
(few situations are of this sort), business decisions can be made based on predictions developed 
by drawing upon data from past events (Read, Sarasvathy, Dew, & Wiltbank, ). When the 
future is risky and only some variables are known (most management situations), business 
decisions can be made by estimating likely scenarios based on historical trends and known and 
unknown variables (Read et al., ). 

The types of problems that entrepreneurs face are problems of uncertainty, not of 
prediction or risk (Read et al., ). Entrepreneurs, unlike managers, deal with a future that is 
unknown and unknowable due to the lack of historical data and the absence of any known 
variables when creating new artifacts (i.e. products, organizations, markets). In such cases, 
uncertainty cannot be modeled or predicted. This is known as the “suicide quadrant” 
(Sarasvathy, b). 

Sarasvathy’s research found that business novices prefer to use prediction in making future 
business decisions, as do expert managers. Expert entrepreneurs, however, prefer and use 
effectual logic rather than attempting to make decisions by predicting the unknown and 
unknowable future (Read et al., ; Sarasvathy, ). Effectual logic is a pattern of decision-
making that seeks to control an unpredictable future (Sarasvathy, ). 

Causal versus Effectual Logic 

Sarasvathy explains how effectual logic differs from predictive, or causal logic, through 
analogies to jigsaw puzzles and patchwork quilts. Causal logic is similar to the logic used to 
complete a jigsaw puzzle. This is because causal problems are problems of decision, causal logic 

 
1 This section, until the story of Austin Classical Guitar heading, is an adaptation of my overview of Effectuation 
in Gangi, 2017. 



ARTIVATE 10.2 

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helps us choose, and causal strategies are useful when the future is predictable, goals are clear, 
and our actions cannot manipulate our environment. The causal actor asks: What should I do 
to achieve a particular effect (Sarasvathy, , p. )? 

When completing a jigsaw puzzle, the picture on the box shows exactly what the future 
looks like and outlines a very clear goal. The problem of putting the puzzle together involves 
making decisions about which pieces to choose. Ultimately, assembling the pieces will only form 
the pre-determined result because the environment of the puzzle, its borders and interior, 
cannot be manipulated. 

Effectuation is similar to creating a patchwork quilt.  Effectual problems are problems of 
design, effectual logic helps us construct, and effectual strategies are useful when the future is 
unpredictable, goals are unclear, and the environment is shaped by human action. The effectual 
actor asks: What can I do with these means, and what else can I do with them (Sarasvathy, , 
p.)? 

Creating a patchwork quilt is a design problem because no pattern exists initially, and the 
patches can be arranged according to the designer’s preferences. Making a patchwork quilt 
requires creating something unpredictable, at first, by starting with very undefined goals, and 
assembling the patches based on creative construction. Unlike the environment of a jigsaw 
puzzle that cannot be changed by the assembler, the environment of the quilt is shaped by 
human action. 

Causal reasoning may or may not be creative; however, effectual reasoning is inherently 
creative (Sarasvathy, b, p. ). Sarasvathy also likens causal reasoning to cooking a meal by 
strictly adhering to a recipe, and effectual reasoning to cooking a meal using whatever is on 
hand and not knowing exactly what will result (Sarasvathy b, ).  She states that 
effectuation articulates a dynamic and iterative process of creating new artifacts in the world, 
such as ideas, products, companies, organizations, and markets (Sarasvathy, ). 

Causal versus Effectual Belief 

The profound philosophical foundation of effectuation theory is the belief that, unlike positivist 
perspectives on the social sciences (causation), opportunities are not found or fixed within a 
static social structure, or according to natural laws like the natural sciences, but rather created 
through human interactions that change their environments (Sarasvathy, , ). Rather 
than believing one is constrained by a fixed system (causal thinkers), effectual thinkers believe 
the future is open, not predetermined, and opportunities are sometimes found but are more 
likely to be created by human behavior and action within social structures, resulting in the 
creation of new contexts, structures, and environments. Effectual thinkers believe prediction is 
fallible (since bounded cognition limits the human intellect), and the future can be controlled 
and therefore does not need to be predicted (Sarasvathy, ). 

Effectual Entrepreneurship Principles: The Solution to the Entrepreneurial Problem 



ARTIVATE 10.2 

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Space 

Sarasvathy developed the elements of entrepreneurial expertise by asking expert entrepreneurs 
to think aloud as they engaged with a simulated entrepreneurial problem and venture concept. 
By having expert entrepreneurs think out loud as they dealt with a new problem rather than 
recalling how they achieved entrepreneurial success in the past, Sarasvathy was able to avoid 
recall bias and peer into the cognitions of experts in real time (Sarasvathy, a, b, ). 

The principles of effectual entrepreneurship are the codification of approaches used by 
expert entrepreneurs when facing an entrepreneurial problem. The following is Sarasvathy’s 
description of her principles from the Society for Effectual Action website, effectuation.org: 

The first principle is the bird-in-hand (means) principle. When expert entrepreneurs set 
out to build a new venture, they start with their means: who I am, what I know, and whom 
I know. Then, the entrepreneurs imagine possibilities that originate from their means. 
Principle number two is the affordable loss principle. Expert entrepreneurs limit risk by 
understanding what they can afford to lose at each step, instead of seeking large all-or-
nothing opportunities. They choose goals and actions where there is upside even if the 
downside ends up happening. 

The third principle is the lemonade (leverage contingencies) principle. Expert 
entrepreneurs invite the surprise factor. Instead of making “what-if” scenarios to deal with 
worst-case scenarios, experts interpret “bad” news and surprises as potential clues to create 
new markets. 

Principle number four is the crazy quilt (partnerships) principle. Expert entrepreneurs 
build partnerships with self-selecting stakeholders. By obtaining pre-commitments from 
these key partners early on in the venture, experts reduce uncertainty and co-create the 
new market with its interested participants. 

The last principle is the pilot-in-the-plane (control versus predict) principle. By 
focusing on activities within their control, expert entrepreneurs know their actions will 
result in the desired outcomes. An effectual worldview is rooted in the belief that the future 
is neither found nor predicted, but rather made.2 

Causal versus Effectual Method 

Sarasvathy states that the effectual cycle, or method, begins with an individual taking stock of 
who they are, what they know, and who they know (Sarasvathy, ). These are the means 
available to the entrepreneur initially. From the amalgam of existing resources, one can form 
goals, always setting an affordable loss or risking only what one can afford to lose. 

The next step is to interact with people and find others willing to self-select into and co-
create the venture. These new stakeholders bring new means to the venture, which can provide 
new possibilities and, if desired, new and modified goals. As the process continues, the 
entrepreneur and self-selected stakeholders welcome surprise because they know they can 

 
2 The Society for Effectual Action, https://www.effectuation.org/?page_id=18. 



ARTIVATE 10.2 

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leverage contingencies into new opportunities. Once the means of all committed stakeholders 
converge into well-defined goals (while keeping losses affordable and remaining open to 
surprises), new products, services, organizations, and markets are created (Sarasvathy, ). 

The causal, or predictive, approach is quite different. Often the causal method begins by 
searching the market for an existing need, and then developing a product or service to satisfy 
the need. A goal would then be formed, based on the probability of high profit margins, followed 
by assembling means and stakeholders to unwaveringly pursue the predetermined goal 
(Timmons, ; Timmons & Spinelli, ). Predictive measures come into play in order to 
account for and avoid any and all surprises. 

Causal logic and its method strive to predict the future and operate under the assumption 
that economies and markets are fixed systems. This approach is typical of the business school 
pedagogy that guides students to look for, recognize, or find an observable and measurable need 
or opportunity, conduct market research to prove the need and analyze competitors, create a 
solution to the need that maintains a competitive advantage, match the product to the correct 
market segment, target the sub-segments, position the product correctly, convince investors 
that the predictions are accurate, raise the capital to actualize all the predictions, and finally, 
launch the company. This is a ready, aim, fire approach. In contrast, effectual logic and its 
method is a ready, fire, aim approach (Sarasvathy, b, ). 

Using the Correct Tool for the Appropriate Problem Space/Venture Stage 

The effectual approach is not intended to replace the causal approach, however, Sarasvathy 
found that expert entrepreneurs use effectual logic and its method more than causal reasoning 
when starting from nothing (Sarasvathy, a, b, ). Since entrepreneurship involves 
innovation and creating new forms of value, this means that uncertainty is inextricably linked 
to the entrepreneurial problem space. According to Sarasvathy’s findings, causal logic and its 
method may not work well for creating new products, organizations, and markets because it is 
based on prediction and risk calculation, and both are impossible when dealing with uncertain 
environments and the unknown and unknowable future. 

Effectual logic and its method works well when making decisions under uncertainty 
(Sarasvathy, ). Again, according to Sarasvathy, once new ventures develop to the point 
where historical data and some known variables exist, causal logic and predictive measures are 
useful. The choice of whether to use the effectual principles and method of non-predictive 
control or the causal approach of predicting a risky future is based upon the amount of 
uncertainty surrounding an entrepreneurial venture. Early stages of venture creation necessitate 
effectual logic, and more mature venture stages can benefit from causal logic. Large, established 
businesses, however, can also benefit from effectual logic whenever they enter an uncertain 
problem space of a new product launch or other aspects of novelty and innovation. 



ARTIVATE 10.2 

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The Story of Austin Classical Guitar 
The mission of Austin Classical Guitar (ACG) is to inspire individuals in the communities they 
serve through musical experiences of deep personal significance. Dr. Matthew Hinsley (Matt) is 
the Executive Director of ACG and is the person primarily responsible for the organization’s 
early growth and success. His story is central to the establishment of ACG, and as such, his 
biography is relevant: 

Named Public Citizen of the Year in  by the Texas Statewide Division of the National 
Association of Social Workers, and Winner of a  Austin Under  award, Dr. Matthew 
Hinsley has worked as a community arts organizer in Central Texas since his arrival in 
. As Executive Director of Austin Classical Guitar, Dr. Hinsley has raised millions of 
dollars in support of broad concert, outreach and educational programming, building the 
nation’s largest classical guitar nonprofit organization. In  he joined the faculty at the 
University of Texas to teach courses in arts entrepreneurship and business management in 
the arts. 

Dr. Hinsley is founder and a lead author of the ACG’s GuitarCurriculum.com that, 
paired with extensive direct service, has transformed classroom guitar education in 
America and changed the lives of thousands of diverse young people. The curriculum, 
which is now used internationally, is in service in  area schools including programs at 
the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Gardner Betts of the Travis County 
Juvenile Justice System, and the foster care system. 

Dr. Hinsley was trained as a classical guitarist and vocalist at the Interlochen Arts 
Academy, the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and the University of Texas at Austin. He 
has written six books, including Classical Guitar for Young People and Creativity to 
Community: Arts Nonprofit Success One Coffee at a Time.3 

Conceptual Origin of a Nonprofit Classical Guitar Organization 

Matt’s involvement with Austin Classical Guitar (ACG) grew out of a situation of need. The 
idea of a nonprofit community service-based classical guitar organization started to form while 
he was an undergraduate student at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Hinsley was one of the 
first three classical guitar students at Oberlin. Of the three, he was the only one to graduate four 
years later (), along with one other student who had transferred in as a sophomore. 

During his time at Oberlin, Matt was in an environment with little infrastructure for guitar. 
The program was in a startup phase led by the founding faculty member Steve Aron. Matt keenly 
felt the lack of infrastructure, as did his teacher. To address the financial need of the guitar 
program, Steve Aron encouraged Matt to start a student guitar club at Oberlin. 

As a sophomore, Matt founded the club and received money to bring in guest artists. This 
experience gave him a taste for organization and helped him realize that he had an interest in 
documenting, making the case for, and raising money for a cause. This led to an elective 

 
3 Austin Classical Guitar, https://www.austinclassicalguitar.org/matthew-hinsley/. 



ARTIVATE 10.2 

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economic arts study for his senior thesis project, culminating in a paper entitled “Classical 
Guitar and the Art Market.” 

After graduating from Oberlin, Matt arrived in Austin in  for graduate classical guitar 
studies at the University of Texas (UT). At this point, Hinsley’s interests extended into two 
primary areas: One) Developing a marketplace and promotion mechanism for classical guitar 
out of the concern for the future of the instrument, his own personal future, the future of his 
colleagues, and the financial challenges for artists and arts organizations. Two) The training of 
young guitarists in America. Violinists and pianists had outstanding training, and at the college 
level they were essentially fully formed musicians. In Matt’s view, and from personal experience, 
classical guitarists did not match this level of training. 

Matt initially addressed his interest in guitar education by building his own private guitar 
teaching studio, which became quite large. He had much success as a teacher, with many 
students winning competitions and auditioning into university guitar programs. He also wrote 
a book called Classical Guitar for Young People to address a gap in American classical guitar 
pedagogy. Matt was influenced to think differently about music education, especially by UT 
professor of human learning Dr. Robert Duke. Among other things, Dr. Duke stressed the 
importance, from the very beginning of instruction, of approaching music teaching from the 
standpoint of authentic music-making and expressivity and joy. This is in contrast to 
approaches that rely heavily on prerequisite learning, abstract concepts, or pedagogical music 
that is tilted more toward technical sequencing than real expressive music-making. The thesis 
of Matt’s book, therefore, is about expressive, beautiful music-making from the first day. His 
book is used widely around the country, not just for children but for adults as well. 

Hinsley built his guitar teaching studio business through word-of-mouth marketing by 
using the networks and connections available to him, including UT faculty, colleagues, and 
parents of his existing students. His first students were the children of music professors within 
the School of Music. Matt realized he possessed a real interest in and passion for teaching 
children. He could enter the world of young people and share a thrill of discovery with them in 
an effective way. He also realized early on that parents were more concerned that their children 
have an enjoyable time, are supported, treated with respect, and are safe during guitar lessons, 
rather than which competitions the teacher has won or where they have performed. Hinsley 
discovered and cultivated a genuine interest in young people, beyond the guitar, and in creating 
a fun, supportive environment for his students, he contributed to his success. In addition to 
word-of-mouth marketing, he visited local schools to recruit students and offered an after-
school program at a private school. 

By the year , he had  hours of teaching per week. From that point on, his studio was 
completely full until , when he stopped teaching private lessons due to the success and 
demands of his work as Executive Director of ACG. Since moving to Austin, all of his income 
has been generated from guitar-related work. 



ARTIVATE 10.2 

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Early Days of Matt’s ACG Leadership 

Austin Classical Guitar (ACG) began operating in  and incorporated as a nonprofit 
organization in . Initially, ACG had very little money and was operated solely by volunteers. 
The organization was plagued by in-fighting, existed in name only, and was looking for new 
leadership. 

Hinsley did not start Austin Classical Guitar but became involved upon moving to Austin. 
He became director in October of , having been asked to lead the organization due to his 
experience running the guitar student organization while at Oberlin. There were many 
challenges at this point in the life of the organization, the greatest being low expectations and 
very limited vision and goals. This was an excellent opportunity for Matt to put into practice 
some of the theories he had developed at Oberlin and to try and push past these challenges and 
reach the organization’s potential. 

ACG was an all-volunteer organization for the first seven years. During this time, Matt 
focused on ) delivering a dependable product (classical guitar concerts) to the community and 
) developing a regular and high-quality communications scheme. He generated a regular 
newsletter, booked concerts in advance, and held monthly meetings. He believed that if the 
community was going to participate with ACG, then ACG needed to provide them with 
something dependable and clearly active that they could interact with on a regular basis. High-
quality, dependable programing with high-quality, regular communication fostered the initial 
organizational momentum. Matt was able to generate word-of-mouth marketing by promoting 
the concerts through his personal networks at the university. Those on the mailing list started 
getting a renewed level of communication, and new people were added to the list through the 
ticketing process and by a signup sheet at concerts. Matt, as a grad student at UT, also founded 
a parallel student guitar organization that allowed ACG to host concerts at university venues. 

ACG began providing free concerts throughout the city of Austin in . The core of this 
idea originated from Matt’s senior thesis at Oberlin and was envisioned as a strategic 
community engagement tool. He also conceptualized this initiative as an effective way to employ 
young artists not yet ready to perform on ACG’s marquee concert series. However, they could 
play concerts by going to schools, churches, and retirement homes, resulting in a , 
paycheck for a week of work for a graduate student or a young competition winner. Two ten-
concert series of this kind were produced in . 

In looking for ways to fund these concerts, ACG applied for and was awarded grant money 
from the City of Austin’s Cultural Services Agreements (or Cultural Contracts) program. Over 
time, this funding, alongside ACG’s diverse revenue streams, helped to grow these concerts into 
what is now the ACG Community Engagement Residency, which provides more than  free 
concerts per year designed to reduce or remove social, economic, and geographic barriers to 
great music. The success of the community engagement initiative met three needs for ACG. 
First, it met the goal of paying more guitarists to perform. Second, it furthered ACG’s mission 
by reaching more (and more diverse) audience members throughout the community. Third, it 
developed a funding relationship with the City of Austin Cultural Contracts program, along 



ARTIVATE 10.2 

10 

with the Texas Commission on the Arts. These two government agencies have been funding 
ACG activities ever since , resulting in very fruitful and mutually beneficial relationships 
for over twenty years. City and state funding currently makes up about  percent of ACG’s 
annual budget. 

At this point in ACG’s history (), the scope of activity included five major concert 
events, two ten-concert community engagement series, an open mic night primarily run by UT 
students in which community members could also participate, and monthly meetings. In , 
ACG was approached by Lona Burwell, a retiree who suggested that, along with college students 
and children, adults should have an opportunity to play music together. In response, ACG 
successfully launched a community guitar ensemble project. The program has operated now for 
more than  years, and there are active members today who began participating back in . 
The community guitar ensemble project was the organization’s first foray into adult amateur 
services. 

ACG Education: The Team Grows 

In , a family foundation became interested in working with ACG to provide free guitar 
lessons to low-income students and gave , to support the effort. As a result, ACG directed 
UT graduate students to work with administrators at one high school in Austin and identified 
six low-income kids to receive free lessons with the graduate students as teachers. This particular 
high school had one guitar class of  kids taught by the choir director, and it was from this class 
that the low-income students were selected for the free private lessons. 

During the course of the individual guitar lessons, ACG’s teachers realized that the material 
being taught in the guitar class was too difficult and did not follow a learning sequence that 
mirrored best practices in private instruction. ACG communicated these concerns to the choir 
director who was open to feedback and recognized the need for improvement. The choir 
director expressed that he and the students were very interested in guitar and had a desire to 
learn the instrument but were struggling to find good material for teaching guitar in a classroom 
setting. At the choir director’s suggestion, they worked together to solve the problem by 
experimenting in the class with ideas for appropriate guitar curriculum in a group setting. 
ACG’s biggest opportunity developed out of these collaborative relationships with the choir 
director and school administrators. 

In the early years of the education program, ACG’s approach to finding new schools to 
serve was teacher by teacher rather than school district or principal. Word-of-mouth marketing 
among music teachers throughout Austin resulted in requests for ACG to serve other schools 
as well. Music teachers realized that the guitar as a popular instrument could grab the attention 
of new students and engage them in fine arts participation. 

As ACG shared the progress and impact of this work, their community was inspired to give 
more money, which led to the slow but steady growth and capacity of the organization. Some 
ACG members believed in the program so much that they volunteered to work with the students 
as classroom guitar teachers. After three years, the fledgling program involved  students 



ARTIVATE 10.2 

11 

within two schools in Austin—a middle school and several classes at the original high school. 
In , ACG was financially stable enough to hire the first full-time staff member. 

By , there was some initial demonstrable success of ACG’s educational service, 
students were enthusiastic about the guitar classes, and six students had even earned college 
scholarships for guitar. They also knew, however, that they lacked an adequate classroom guitar 
curriculum, especially if the program was going to grow, because they were primarily relying on 
individual instruction methods adapted for the classroom. In the year prior (), Matt had 
toured around the USA looking for high-quality guitar programs. The programs he found were 
similar to ACG, powered by elbow grease and passionate and caring teachers, but lacking a 
thoughtful, comprehensive curricular solution similar to those available for choir, orchestra, 
and band. So, ACG began envisioning a wholly new, ensemble-based approach to classroom 
guitar instruction. They had the benefit of teaching classroom guitar for several years, and that 
experience facilitated a deep understanding of the curricular problems that needed to be 
addressed. 

In , Matt pitched an ambitious concept to a family foundation in Austin. ACG could 
create a paradigm-shifting classroom classical guitar curriculum that would change the way 
guitar was taught in schools, resulting in a system for school-based guitar education comparable 
to established programs in choir, orchestra, and band. The foundation gave , that year to 
hire a director of education and begin developing the curriculum. In , Matt hired Travis 
Marcum as ACG’s first director of education. Travis and Matt worked side by side for several 
years to build and refine the ACG curriculum while growing new school programs. Over the 
next four years, ACG’s donors gave more than , to build what would eventually launch 
online in October of  as GuitarCurriculum.com. GuitarCurriculum.com is a 
comprehensive teacher resource that includes a searchable library of original, pedagogically 
sequenced ensemble literature, sight reading, and audio and video tutorials and aids. This 
resource espouses a powerful core educational philosophy of fostering expressive, beautiful 
musicmaking from the very first day.4 

In , ACG hired Jeremy Osborne as assistant director of education. Jeremy would 
become one of the most powerful agents in the growth of ACG education, especially regarding 
program development and teacher training. Around the same time, Austin Independent School 
District (AISD) conducted an audit that revealed problematic disparities in access to fine arts 
programs for minority and low-income children. As an external community nonprofit 
organization, ACG was engaging almost , students within their eight programs. The 
majority of children served attended Title  schools, and the AISD Fine Arts Administration 
found that these guitar programs were especially successful in providing access to fine arts 
programs for minority and low-income students. As a result, AISD worked with ACG to build 
large numbers of programs with rapid scaling of about  programs per year in , , and 
. 

Shortly after its launch, the ACG guitar curriculum attracted interest from around the USA 

 
4 Austin Classical Guitar, https://www.austinclassicalguitar.org/guitarcurriculum-com/. 



ARTIVATE 10.2 

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and beyond. There was widespread desire for better classroom guitar curricula. This presented 
a new challenge: teacher training. In , ACG presented a rudimentary version of what would 
become an annual National Teacher Summit. The multiday workshop—led by expert teachers 
including music education faculty and artists from across the nation—offers seminars, active 
learning, and practice teaching tailored to the individual needs of attendees. Topics covered 
include curriculum and repertoire, conducting, rehearsal techniques, elementary through high 
school applications, private and small group guitar lessons, advanced guitar ensemble direction, 
and more.5 The teacher summit draws international attendees. Through the summit and the 
GuitarCurriculum.com website, ACG provides a support network and resources for guitar 
teachers on a global scale. The  summit was offered online in response to the pandemic and 
focused on remote teaching techniques, online classroom solutions, and making meaningful 
expressive music while socially distanced. 

In , ACG hired Eric Pearson as director of curriculum. Among other things, Pearson 
would be central in the growth and development of the curriculum resource and the program 
overall. Marcum, Osborne, and Pearson continue to work for ACG to this day, forming the core 
of ACG’s education team along with  arrival Jessica Griggs, who serves as director of music 
and community engagement. 

Expanding Educational Services into Juvenile Justice 

In , University of Texas School of Social Work professor Dr. Calvin Streeter conducted an 
extensive social impact study on ACG education. That process led to an introduction to another 
social work professor, Dr. Forrest Novy, whose career had focused on juvenile justice systems 
in the Americas. Dr. Novy’s research indicated that art resonated powerfully with youth 
involved in juvenile justice, and he was very interested in the potential for guitar training to 
positively impact incarcerated youth. 

Dr. Novy invited the ACG education team to meet with Estela Medina, chief probation 
officer of Travis County at the Gardner Betts Juvenile Justice Center. She was excited about the 
possibilities of this collaboration based upon Dr. Novy’s recommendation and ACG’s 
demonstrated work in local schools. In , Travis Marcum began teaching guitar at the 
juvenile justice center. By , there were many children participating in the guitar classes, and 
once they started, they wanted to keep learning guitar. The students showed noticeable progress 
in their attitudes, therapy plans, and interactions with staff members. They also performed 
regularly in the courthouse in front of the judge and their families. 

As a result of this success, in , Austin Independent School District asked to partner 
with ACG to create the first and only fine arts elective for-credit program for incarcerated youth 
in Austin. At the time, AISD and ACG had already worked together for years building for-credit 
elective programs in schools. It is significant for a school district to allow an external agency to 
provide a for-credit class, and the fact that AISD requested to work with ACG in this capacity 

 
5 https://www.austinclassicalguitar.org/guitarcurriculum-training-austin/ 



ARTIVATE 10.2 

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demonstrates the quality of ACG’s programing and teachers. 
This program at the Juvenile Justice Center has consistently yielded musical and 

developmental results with incarcerated youth comparable to other high-quality music 
education programs for youth in the community. Jeremy Osborne has led ACG Juvenile Justice 
Services since , which has expanded to three facilities and is consulting with many more 
statewide, and they are regularly featured in local and national news and in national conference 
formats of all kinds. 

Expanding Educational Services to Blind and Visually Impaired Students 

ACG’s partnership with the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI) began 
around , when ACG’s nascent performance engagement series began sending artists to play 
for TSBVI students. TSBVI built a new auditorium in , and the principal invited Matt to 
tour their new facility to explore possible performance collaborations. During the tour, they 
stopped at a classroom, and the principal introduced Matt to the kids as the executive director 
of Austin Classical Guitar. At the word guitar, a girl raised her hand and said that she wanted to 
learn how to play the guitar. Another boy soon followed. This was a surprise and the initial 
impetus for considering how ACG could teach guitar to all students, regardless of any barriers 
to learning. 

The new challenge for ACG was how to deliver their guitar curriculum in an accessible 
format for blind and visually impaired students. ACG needed to find the right teacher who could 
be flexible and attentive to special needs as they presented themselves. Jeremy Coleman was the 
perfect candidate, with an undergraduate degree in guitar and graduate degrees in both music 
therapy and music education. The match was made. 

After two years of largely rote-based instruction, Jeremy Coleman approached ACG with 
the ambitious idea of converting GuitarCurriculum.com resources into Braille. Coleman 
volunteered to learn the Braille system for music notation so that they could make a Braille 
version of their classroom guitar curriculum. While initially ACG financially supported Jeremy 
Coleman’s part-time position at TSBVI, he soon became the school’s employee as a full-time 
music and guitar instructor.6 

The guitar program at TSBVI has grown and developed over the years. Students have 
become literate, confident performing musicians. One former TSBVI student went on to attend 
a public school in Arizona. She enrolled in a guitar class at the public school and was delighted 
to learn the school had Braille conversion services for her music. She wrote to Jeremy Coleman 
to inform him that she was still able to keep up with guitar. 

While news of her success was welcome indeed, the ACG education team suddenly realized 
that the world lacked a progressive lifelong learning pathway for blind and visually impaired 
individuals. They grew concerned that students leaving TSBVI with guitar experience would 
have no supported resources available to them to continue their enjoyment and pursuit of music 

 
6 https://www.austinclassicalguitar.org/author/j-coleman/ 



ARTIVATE 10.2 

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on the classical guitar. This led to ACG creating Letsplayguitar.org.7 A collaboration between 
ACG and TSBVI, Letsplayguitar.org is a braille and audio self-study solo course of  solos 
arranged into eight levels in alignment with the sequence of GuitarGurriculum.com. 

Supported by various foundations and individual donors, the initial development of 
Letsplayguitar.org cost , and was launched in July of . , unique users from  
countries visited the site in the first month. Since its initial launch, Letsplayguitar.org has been 
expanded, and a translated version was launched for use in the Balkans through a partner in 
Montenegro. 

Causation versus Effectuation in the AGC Story 

Matt and the leadership of ACG enacted a logic and method of entrepreneurship throughout 
the development of their organization. The story of ACG provides a treasure trove of empirical 
data illustrating entrepreneurial behavior in an arts context. The following analysis examines 
which rival theory, causation or effectuation, best explains the evidence from the ACG story and 
answers the question: How do successful arts entrepreneurs launch and sustain new ventures? 

Does causation or effectuation explain the success of ACG? Let’s examine the evidence. 
The first principle, the bird-in-hand (means) principle, involves starting with the means or 
resources of who I am, what I know, and who I know, when building a new venture. From this 
set of means, the entrepreneur imagines possibilities based upon these initial resources. 

There is evidence of this means principle during Matt’s undergraduate career at Oberlin 
Conservatory. The guitar program was in a startup phase, an uncertain environment with no 
infrastructure or financial resources. Matt was a guitarist and musician (who he was) and knew 
what the program needed (what he knew) through the mentorship of his teacher and program 
founder (whom he knew), who encouraged him to start the student guitar club in order to access 
resources from the institution to bring in guest artists (imagining possibilities). 

This experience greatly impacted his initial set of means as it awakened his taste for 
organization and led to an economic study of the classical guitarist for his senior thesis project 
(who he was and what he knew). By the time he arrived in Austin, his initial set of means was 
greatly enhanced, and he was primed for leading ACG. Indeed, his particular set of initial means 
led to the request for him to assume this leadership position. 

Who he was and what he knew, two components of Matt’s initial set of means, can be 
summarized by his awareness of two categories of need and interest: ) developing a 
marketplace and promotion mechanism for classical guitar, and ) music education and the 
training of young guitarists in America. The way in which Matt addressed the lacuna in 
American classical guitar pedagogy through his own private guitar teaching studio and his book, 
Classical Guitar for Young People, also shows the first principle at work. 

Through a mentor’s influence (who he knew), Matt approached the study of music 
differently, resulting in ACG’s foundational pedagogical philosophy of expressive, beautiful 

 
7 https://www.kut.org/post/new-web-app-teaches-classical-guitar-using-braille 



ARTIVATE 10.2 

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musicmaking from the first day (what he knew). During the years of his private studio teaching 
experience, Matt realized that he possessed a real interest and ability in teaching children and 
could effectively share a thrill of discovery with them (who he was and what he knew). As shown 
in the ACG story, its development originated from Hinsley’s particular configuration of who he 
was, what he knew, and who he knew. 

The second effectual principle is setting an affordable loss at each venture step (instead of 
seeking large, all-or-nothing opportunities) and choosing goals and actions with an upside, even 
if the downside happens. Clearly, effectuation is a better explanation than causation for ACG’s 
development at this venture stage. If ACG was seeking large, all-or-nothing opportunities, then 
the organization would have dissolved itself from the start. What large opportunities with the 
probability of high profit margins can be predicted for a struggling classical guitar society? 
Principle number four is building partnerships with self-selecting stakeholders by obtaining 
precommitments from key partners early on in the venture. This reduces uncertainty and 
facilitates cocreation with interested participants. 

By obtaining funding for the Community Engagement Series from the City of Austin’s 
Cultural Contracts program, ACG set an affordable loss. The performers could be paid to 
perform free-to-the-public concerts despite the lack of income from ticket sales, reducing 
financial risk to ACG. This cocreation between self-selecting stakeholders helped both parties 
to achieve their respective missions and formed a fruitful, long-term partnership. There was an 
upside of high-quality musical performances offered at no cost to the public (contributing to 
what makes Austin a vibrant arts community), even if the downside of low attendance 
happened. 

The third principle is leveraging contingencies, inviting the surprise factor, and 
interpreting surprises as potential clues to create new products, services, and markets. For ACG, 
it certainly was a surprise when a donor suggested that they provide free guitar lessons to low-
income students and gave , to support the effort. At the time, ACG did not have an 
educational component within their vision and goals. 

Although this was a good surprise, the suggestion could have been dismissed as beyond the 
scope of ACG’s activities. This data point again shows that causation is not the best explanation 
of ACG’s development. The causal approach emphasizes forming a goal based on the 
probability of high profit margins, followed by assembling means and stakeholders to 
unwaveringly pursue the predetermined goal. Predictive measures come into play in order to 
account for and avoid any and all surprises. If ACG was following the causal method, this 
surprise would have been dismissed because the suggestion did not fit with the vision and goals 
of the organization, and there was no probability of high profit margins. 

Instead, ACG invited the surprise factor and partnered with a self-selecting stakeholder 
who helped set an affordable loss by providing funding. ACG also allowed the self-selecting 
partner to influence or cocreate the initial goal and then took action to explore how to 
implement the idea. It’s important to note here that because of the community ACG had 
formed, and their reputation for excellent work, the donor knew of them through a friend and 
was comfortable entrusting the funds and the execution of the idea to ACG. This endeavor also 



ARTIVATE 10.2 

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required partnerships with UT School of Music to source the guitar teachers and partnerships 
with the administrators and music teacher at the initial high school to identify the students. 

Without these cocreating, self-selecting stakeholders providing resources and networks 
and welcoming the surprise factor, ACG’s most significant opportunity would not have been 
created. At this venture stage, the full potential of the opportunity was not recognizable or 
discoverable and could not have been predicted. The only possibility was to explore what could 
be done with the amalgam of means available, seek new means and self-selecting stakeholders, 
all while keeping the future of the venture open to surprise. In other words, do the doable, 
focusing on actions within their control. Thus far, effectuation best explains the evidence. 

This pattern happened again when ACG developed GuitarCurriculum.com. A family 
foundation provided the initial funding, setting an affordable loss. Through partnership with 
teachers and schools, they experimented and developed a paradigm-shifting classroom classical 
guitar curriculum. Other donors joined the effort and funded the development of the website, 
resulting in a new product that facilitates a new music education service in public schools and 
opened up a new market consisting of teachers, students, and institutionally and donor-
supported social impact on an international scale. The core of the ACG curriculum is based 
upon part of Matt’s and Travis’ initial means (who they are and what they know), manifested in 
the powerful core educational philosophy of fostering expressive, beautiful musicmaking from 
the very first day. It is incredible to see how the effect of a mentor (who they know) on Matt and 
Travis’ approach to music pedagogy (who they are and what they know) now has a global 
impact. 

The last effectual entrepreneurship principle is seeking to control rather than predict an 
unknowable future in order to deal with uncertainty. Expert entrepreneurs focus on activities 
within their control and do the doable. An effectual worldview is rooted in the belief that the 
future is not found or predicted but rather created. 

Effectual problems are problems of design; effectual logic helps us construct, and effectual 
strategies are useful when the future is unpredictable, goals are unclear, and the environment is 
shaped by human action. Effectual reasoning is inherently creative (Sarasvathy, b, p. ). 
The effectual actor asks: What can I do with these means, and what else can I do with them 
(Sarasvathy, , p.)? Since the outcomes of entrepreneurial action are human-made 
artifacts, Sarasvathy makes a compelling argument that entrepreneurship is a science of the 
artificial (Sarasvathy, ). 

Matt attributes ACG’s development over the years to the realization that music can be a 
powerful agent of positive change in the world, often in surprising ways that are rarely taught 
in the course of traditional music education. ACG would never have thought of doing many of 
the initiatives that are now essential to their mission, but by remaining open to surprising 
requests, they explored the possibilities and designed viable solutions (i.e., human-made 
artifacts). With each success, ACG’s vision of what is possible expands, resulting in the 
worldview of, “Wow, I didn’t realize that was something we could do with guitar! If we can do 
this here, why not somewhere else?” Here again, effectuation best explains the data. Causation 
most likely would have prevented ACG’s development and the opportunities they created, based 



ARTIVATE 10.2 

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upon the hubris of prediction. 
Sarasvathy states that effectuation articulates a dynamic and iterative process of creating 

new artifacts in the world, such as ideas, products, companies, organizations, and markets 
(Sarasvathy, ). ACG’s story enlivens the logic and method of effectuation beautifully. After 
successfully implementing the music education service in public schools, another suggestion 
from a faculty member at UT resulted in delivering music education in the juvenile justice 
system using initial resources, partnering with self-selecting stakeholders who collaboratively 
provide new means and shaped the initiative through cocreation. The work with the Texas 
School for the Blind and Visually Impaired began by Matt being open to the surprising request 
from children to learn guitar while at the school on a new facilities tour. This initial spontaneous 
request from children has now resulted in converting GuitarCurriculum.com into Braille and 
removing barriers to guitar education for people internationally. Once again, causation does not 
best explain how these opportunities were created. 

Sarasvathy’s work helps us understand the distinctions between management and 
entrepreneurship, and these differences are evident in the history of ACG. The problem space 
for managers making future business decisions involves risk, and only some variables are 
known. At stages in the history of ACG where artifacts (i.e., products/services, organizations, 
markets) had more fully developed, business decisions could be made by estimating likely 
scenarios based on historical trends and known and unknown variables. Managerial approaches 
worked very well in this problem space, and Matt certainly used the tools of an arts 
administrator (causation). 

When surprises arose for Matt and ACG, this plunged them into the problem space of 
needing to make future business decisions based upon completely unknown variables. In these 
situations, Matt and ACG faced problems of uncertainty, not of prediction or risk. They dealt 
with the unknown and unknowable future by using entrepreneurial thinking (intrapreneurship, 
when ACG was past the startup phase) rather than managerial thinking. Using the elements of 
entrepreneurial expertise (effectuation), they successfully created new artifacts 
(products/services, organizations, markets), despite lacking historical data and any known 
variables. In particular, the classroom guitar curriculum and teaching, juvenile justice, and 
special needs initiatives demonstrate a shift from the managerial problem space to the 
entrepreneurial problem space and how effectuation worked very well in the proper context. 

Early in the development of new artifacts, effectuation is the ideal tool to use. As artifacts 
develop and data and variables become more known and knowable, a shift to managerial tools 
is possible and perhaps preferable (Sarasvathy, b). The launching and sustaining of ACG 
shows these two complementary approaches being worked out in a cyclical process over time. 

Clearly, ACG’s work has involved a dynamic and iterative process that has created new 
products, services, markets, jobs, and most importantly, renewed people. A profound change 
happened between  and , when ACG’s growth was significantly accelerating. Matt’s 
mindset changed from being interested in guitar and the arts in and of themselves, and in 
developing a marketplace for guitarists, to being interested in community service. Over time, 
this led to a redefinition of success: “We are here to engage people in quality music-making in 



ARTIVATE 10.2 

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an enjoyable way, not to create the next competition winners or get students into college for 
guitar.” 

Changing the preconceptions of success formed in music school training is a constant 
challenge for Matt and ACG. Great artistry is still important, but ACG is fundamentally a 
community service organization. Where a more traditional music organization might prioritize 
their largest and most lucrative concerts, the ACG team places equal emphasis upon concerts, 
performance engagement, direct education services, education systems building, and music and 
healing. Furthermore, ACG’s future vision is community-centered artmaking in all divisions. 
For ACG the primary operational question has become: “how do we change people’s lives for 
the better? And we don’t care if that person is the next Mozart or not.” 

Effectuation is very much about goal formation, adaptation, and the redefinition of success 
(imagining possibilities). Within a hierarchy of goals, the effectual entrepreneur remains 
adaptive to surprise and allows others to influence goals (Read et al., ). For example, ACG’s 
mission is “to inspire individuals in the communities we serve through musical experiences of 
deep personal significance.” This is the primary goal, yet there is considerable flexibility in goal 
formation and adaptation through effectual action within this overarching mission. 

By widening the definition of success for classical guitarists and guitar education, ACG is 
positively impacting thousands of people and has become the leading nonprofit organization 
dedicated to classical guitar in the United States.8 Currently, ACG employs  full time staff 
members,  contractors (not including performers), has over  volunteers and provides 
educational programs to  schools in the Austin area. The story is not finished, and the work 
of ACG continues to expand as expert effectual actors ask, “Wow, I didn’t realize that was 
something we could do with guitar! If we can do this here, why not somewhere else (what can 
we do with these means, and what else can we do)?” 

Study Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research 

This article shares one empirical example of the logic and method of effectuation theory proving 
effective in an arts context and demonstrates that effectuation better explains the data from the 
ACG story than the rival theory of causation. Additional examples would, of course, strengthen 
the case for effectuation working for arts entrepreneurs. In future articles I will provide 
additional examples of effectuation proving efficacious in contrasting arts contexts, and I 
welcome other scholars to join the effort. 

The story of Austin Classical Guitar perhaps shows some aspects of the lean startup method 
and design thinking at work. Although distinct, there seems to be some similarities between and 
among the concepts of effectual entrepreneurship, the lean startup method, and design 
thinking. An exploration of the complementary relationships between these methods and how 
they are worked out in an arts context would perhaps be a worthwhile topic for future research. 

 
8 Austin Classical Guitar, https://www.austinclassicalguitar.org/about/ 



ARTIVATE 10.2 

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Conclusion 
Sarasvathy’s work provides a common logic and method successful entrepreneurs use to 
do entrepreneurship that can taught in a meaningful way. This article advances Sarasvathy’s 
theory and contributes to arts entrepreneurship theory development by empirically 
demonstrating effectuation operating successfully within the new context of an arts not-for-
profit venture (Fisher & Aguinis, ).9 The story of Austin Classical Guitar provides 
compelling evidence in support of effectuation as the answer to my research question: How do 
successful arts entrepreneurs launch and sustain new ventures? 

Sarasvathy’s logic and method of entrepreneurial expertise is well suited for use in an arts 
context and can serve as a foundational building block for arts entrepreneurship research, 
pedagogy, and practice. I encourage my colleagues to consider using effectuation in their work 
and to join me in building upon this excellent foundation for our field. Our students need a 
clear and powerful guide for doing arts entrepreneurship and dealing with an unknown and 
unknowable future. Ultimately, our field is an applied discipline focused on training students to 
take action. By teaching effectuation and building upon it, we can confidently provide our 
students with a proven method for doing arts entrepreneurship and empower them to create 
successful ventures, careers, and futures.10 

References

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Diaz, J. (2018, June 18). New Web App Teaches Classical 
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9 “As effectuation research reaches an intermediate state of development, it will become more important to 
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developing not-for-profit organizations, or engaging in other activities where effectuation might apply . . . to 
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Perry et al., (2012). 
10 The existing textbook, Effectual Entrepreneurship, 2nd edition, lacks arts-specific examples. Providing 
examples in an arts context is an opportunity for our sub-field. 

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Websites 
Austin Classical Guitar. 

https://www.austinclassicalguitar.org/author/j-
coleman/; 
https://www.austinclassicalguitar.org/about/; 
https://www.austinclassicalguitar.org/guitarcurriculu
m-training-austin/; 
https://www.austinclassicalguitar.org/guitarcurriculu
m-com/; 
https://www.austinclassicalguitar.org/matthew-
hinsley/. 

Society for Effectual Action. 
https://www.effectuation.org/?page_id=18. 

Cover image credit: Austin Classical Guitary

 


