Investment firm Eight Roads has commissioned Longitude Research to conduct a quantitative study of 313 technology startup founders across Europe (with a focus on companies in Denmark, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, and the UK with a minimum revenue of $1 million).
The findings are quiet interesting, but since Eight Roads has published the results on a dedicated, nice-looking mini website, we invite you to explore them on your own. Among those surveyed: co-founders of BlaBlaCar, iZettle, Made.com, Zoopla and Shazam. Here are some highlights:
- A model childhood: 69% said they were well behaved as children
- Following in the footsteps of mum and dad: 36% had parents who were entrepreneurs
- Most entrepreneurs start early: 75% had set up their first business by the time they were 30
- Boards can do a better job - 38% of entrepreneurs said: "My board stop me doing things I think we need to do" (editorial note: _ouch_)
- A growth funding gap persists: 44% of entrepreneurs said Europe needs to get better at providing ‘growth capital’ for entrepreneurs
- Strong appetite for listing: 44% of founders said that they were aiming for an IPO
- 51% of the entrepreneurs running businesses with over 500 employees admitted: "I’m not at all proud of my achievements"
Davor Hebel, Managing Partner and Head of Europe Ventures at Eight Roads, said: “We hope that we’ve started to demystify the concept of ambition so founders who want to give it a go can, and those already on the journey can lean on some practical advice. "
"Europe is a highly fragmented market geographically but we’ve found there’s more that binds entrepreneurs in Europe together than divides them. Most had happy childhoods, were extremely hardworking and have faced similar challenges as they’ve grown their companies," he added.
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