The study ‘Startups and social background’ makes it clear that the starting conditions for founders are significantly influenced by their social background. Entrepreneurial parents act as role models and door openers, while children from working-class families rarely have access to comparable networks and resources. Nevertheless, the data indicates that the passion and innovative spirit of founders is comparably high regardless of their social background.
The results of a recent study by the Bertelsmann Stiftung and the Startup Association, for which 1,800 startup entrepreneurs were surveyed, clearly show how strongly the family background characterises startup founders. Above all, the parents’ level of education and professional career play a decisive role: they serve as role models, encourage their children to start their own businesses and provide access to valuable networks.
The influence of background and education
Start-up founders are more likely to be children from a household of academics: Six out of ten have at least one parent with an academic degree. Overall, the academic proportion of parents of female founders is significantly higher than in the comparable age group of the population as a whole: 53 per cent of fathers and 38 per cent of mothers of female founders have an academic degree, whereas the proportion of academics in the population aged between 55 and 74 is only 21 per cent (men) and 15 per cent (women). Among the founders themselves, the proportion of academics is as high as 85 per cent. A similar picture emerges with regard to the profession of the parents: For 38 per cent of founders, at least one parent was self-employed – 24 per cent even ran businesses with employees. ‘A family entrepreneurial background is an important driver for startup entrepreneurs. Conversely, however, this also means that the hurdles for innovators without this access are much higher. That needs to change,’ says Julia Scheerer, economic expert at the Bertelsmann Stiftung.
Important role models: Entrepreneurial parents promote start-ups through networks and inspiration
Entrepreneurial parents often act as role models and door openers with their networks. Two thirds of founders from families of entrepreneurs state that they have come into contact with other entrepreneurs thanks to their family environment. This means that they experience role models in their environment from an early age, while founders from other backgrounds (civil servants or workers) are less likely to learn about this career option – only 14 per cent of respondents had contact with entrepreneurs through their family environment. In addition, academic parents and parents who are entrepreneurs are much more likely to encourage their children to start their own business. ‘Our study shows how important role models, networks and personal support are for startup founders. Entrepreneurial role models are crucial – so far, parents have often inspired young people to pursue an entrepreneurial career. This is important, but in order to realise our potential, we should make role models more visible in schools and society. Then we can inspire more young people to start up and create initial points of contact,’ says Franziska Teubert, Managing Director of the Startup Association.
Realising potential – founding a startup as an opportunity
Another relevant aspect is financial resources: 70 per cent of the founders surveyed whose parents are entrepreneurs themselves state that they can rely on their parents for financial support in difficult situations. The same applies to 57 per cent of founders with civil servant parents. For children from working families, the figure is only 14 per cent. In addition, founders with parents who are entrepreneurs (63 per cent) have raised external capital more often than their counterparts from working-class families (46 per cent) – and employ around twice as many employees on average. However, as different as the starting positions are, there is also a clear parallel among the respondents: regardless of their social background, nine out of ten founders want to set up another startup after their current one. There are also hardly any differences between the groups when it comes to mindset and the willingness to think big. ‘Successful start-ups are therefore a lever for creating more equal opportunities in the economy,’ says Scheerer.
About the study:
1,800 founders were surveyed for the study ‘Startups and social background – What shapes and drives founders’ by the Bertelsmann Stiftung and the Startup Association. The Start-up Monitor (DSM), which has been conducted annually since 2012, was supplemented with questions on social background in the 2023 survey wave.
Click here for the study.
