Entrepreneurial creativity is increasingly considered an information-based process. We employed the Serendipity-Mindsponge-3D (SM3D) knowledge management framework, an information-processing-based analytical approach for making creativity and innovation, to examine the entrepreneurs’ mental process behind creativity performance through the lens of the information process. Using Bayesian Mindsponge Framework (BMF) analytics on data from 3,071 entrepreneurs in Vietnam, we found that entrepreneurs who gave more time to their startup efforts tended to develop less creative business models, products, or services. In contrast, greater knowledge level within an entrepreneur’s discipline (i.e., prior experience in business and management) and better connections to out-of-discipline knowledge (i.e., learning from the failures of others) were both positively linked to creativity. Moreover, open-mindedness amplified the positive association between out-of-discipline knowledge and creativity. Overall, the findings offer empirical support for the SM3D framework and contribute to a deeper understanding of creativity as a non-linear, information-driven processes. Practically, the results inform policies and strategies for fostering entrepreneurial creativity in Vietnam’s transition toward a knowledge- and innovation-based economy. The study also recommends future research to adopt an information-based lens to examine how the integration of scientific, socio-cultural, ecological, and business–economic knowledge streams shapes creativity and innovation