A lion's share of entrepreneurship research highlights conditions on core-regions, while entrepreneurship in peripheral areas has been less studied. This study aims at exploring the interplay between the context of island and archipelago communities and firm outcomes – paying special attention to spatial variations and non-linear temporal dimensions. Our focus lies in firms founded in 17 islands of Stockholm Archipelago, from the beginning of 2000 to the end of 2019. Using longitudinal multilevel modelling, we find that — despite a seemingly ’homogeneous’ place — spatial and temporal variations, however small, would have substantial effects on the conditions for entrepreneurship in these communities. Our results show that firms located in islands with higher population density and seasonal dependability face increased probabilities of exit while those in islands with access to digital ecosystems, local services in the form of kindergartens and year-round grocery stores have decreased probabilities of exit. Islands with thicker institutional context, indicating trust and community support, are related to increasing survival rates. Distance to market was found to be insignificant in terms of survival.