In a recent homage to Storey’s work (Parker et al. in Small Bus Econ 62:1–21, 2024), Blackburn notes that “One of the key themes running throughout much of David’s work is that of ‘unevenness’” (p. 5). While I think this is a fair characterisation, I prefer the terms ‘variety’ and ‘divergence’, believing these to better capture the remarkable and remarkably different forms and outcomes of entrepreneurship which were frequently Storey’s concern. From a very early stage, when much of the entrepreneurship literature was characteristically uncritical, Storey was consistent in recognising different qualities of entrepreneurship.