Abstract: Innovation and risk-taking are crucial for the growth and success of new businesses. This study explores how supporting new ideas within a company is connected to entrepreneurs taking calculated risks. Data were collected from 87 startup founders through structured questionnaires. The results showed a weak positive link between encouraging innovation and risk-taking, suggesting that promoting new ideas might slightly encourage entrepreneurs to take risks. However, further analysis found that this encouragement only accounted for 3.6% of the change in risk-taking, and this was not statistically significant. This means that while fostering innovation is important, it may not strongly influence entrepreneurs to take risks. Factors like personal traits, market conditions, access to resources, and leadership support could play a larger role. The study adds to our understanding by highlighting the complexity of the link between innovation and risk-taking, especially in startups. Practically, this implies that startup environments should combine support for innovation with other types of entrepreneurial help. The study faced limitations such as a small participant group and self-reported data. Future research should examine more factors that could affect this relationship, using long-term studies to track changes over time. This study improves our understanding of how a business's environment influences crucial entrepreneurial behaviours essential for startup success.

Keywords: Innovation, Risk-Taking, Entrepreneurs, Startups, Organizational Support, Entrepreneurial Orientation.

| DOI: 10.17148/IARJSET.2025.124112