Purpose: Prior studies on entrepreneurial intention have shown that different orientations exist regarding entrepreneurial engagement: one looking at the growth of a venture (growth-oriented) and the other looking at the maintenance of an entrepreneurial autonomy (independence-oriented). Filling a gap in the literature concerning the reasons why individuals develop different orientations of entrepreneurial intention, this study revolves around achievement goal motivation (mastery, performance and avoidance approaches) and self-regulatory modes (locomotion and assessment), since both are thought to be at the origin and maintenance of an action willingness. Design/methodology/approach: In a sample of 209 undergraduates, we administered a structured questionnaire at the beginning of an elective entrepreneurship education programme. Through a set of hierarchical regressions we examined the specific role of achievement goal motivation and regulatory modes in relation to the two orientations of intention. Findings: Our findings show that, on the one hand, growth-oriented intention is related to a performance approach and both locomotion and assessment regulatory modes. On the other hand, independence-oriented intention is related to an avoidance approach. Research limitations/implications: These results illuminate the theoretical connections between entrepreneurial intention and motivation and provide implications for entrepreneurship education and the relationship between intention and consequent behaviour. Originality/value: This study is among the first to provide an empirical exploration of the motivational and regulatory drivers that lie beneath a growth-oriented and an independent-oriented intention, offering a theoretical explanation about the development of different intentions towards venture creation. Our findings illuminate on the urgency to consider entrepreneurial intention as a multi-dimensional construct if we are to understand the intention-behaviour nexus.