The EU Commission initiated “EU Startup Monitor” has been launched in Graz, Austria during the annual SME Assembly on November 21st 2018 and presents comparable data for 21 startup ecosystems in Europe. The execution of the research was done by ESCP Europe researchers Prof. Dr. René Mauer and Lisa Steigertahl, both associated with the Chair of Entrepreneurship at ESCP Europe in Berlin and the Jean-Baptiste Say Institute for Entrepreneurship.
The EU Startup Monitor shows that startups are being created all over Europe, with the biggest geographical hubs in London, Berlin, Paris, Copenhagen and Lisbon (graphic above). The average founder is male (82.8%), holds a university degree (84.8%) and was 35 years old when founding the startup. Startups are commonly founded in teams (on average 2.7 co-founders). The startups can be found in multiple sectors varying from traditional IT/software development (19.1%) to trending green technologies (4.0%). They offer online solutions (only 0.7% offer offline solutions), generate revenues mainly or entirely through business to business markets (71.8%) and on average employ 12.8 people. The results showed a clear ambition to further grow both, the number of employees (7.5 planned hires within the next 12 months) and markets operated in (88% are planning (further) internationalisation). Locations for growth are within the Eurozone (85.0%) and outside (40.0%), with the United States of America and its famous Silicon Valley in the state of California still in the lead (43.4%) as desired spots for expansion but increasing interest in the Asian markets (25.8%).
Concerns about profitability (86.2%) and cash flow (72.3%), which most startups consider being their biggest challenges, are typically also answered by expansion. Moving to another market means moving towards a bigger base of potential customers, a larger pool of people for recruiting, and often new capital markets to approach for further funding. Another way to overcome challenges and to access new opportunities is through working together as it was reported that 71.1% already engage in cooperations with large corporations (Fortune 500 companies, and/or SMEs). It is to be noted that cooperations between startups and other SMEs are three times as common as cooperation between startups and large corporates (Fortune 500 companies) and for some startup ecosystems (the female share of founders is less than 10.0% (Belgium 9.9%, Czech Republic 9.3, Portugal 5.1%).
For the full report and more information please visit: http://startupmonitor.eu/press.html