Who really gets to start a business in modern Britain?
Our perceptions hold power, and perceptions of entrepreneurship in the UK can be incredibly narrow and tainted with bias. We conducted this research via global public opinion and data company YouGov to better understand public perceptions of the sector and what that can tell us about the barriers faced by certain groups in society.
The Entrepreneurs Club, launched today, details the findings of our research as well as our recommendations for building a fairer, more representative ecosystem.
The Entrepreneurs Club findings
- Three quarters (74%) of people in the UK do not believe that an entrepreneur is someone that resembles them.
- More than 1 in 4 people (27%) in the UK believe that men have greater chances of success running a business than women.
- More than 1 in 4 people (27%) in the UK believe that white people have greater chances than people from an ethnic minority background.
The research also found that women, disabled people, and queer people are all less likely to feel confident starting a business than the average person.
Rebekah Capon, Hatch Enterprise’s Managing Director, explains why the findings of this report are so important in considering social equality:
“Sadly many people in Britain feel excluded from this sector. For too long entrepreneurship has been the privilege of a select few with the wealth, networks, and financial safety net to either make their dreams a reality or fail without substantial financial consequences.
“This report explores the unequal systems that place entrepreneurship out of reach for so many as well as the perceptions that are holding people back from success.
“We hope that people reading this report start to question their own assumptions of who gets to be an entrepreneur in modern Britain, and really consider if it could be a path for them. For those wanting to explore this possibility, Hatch’s doors are always open.”
For the past decade we have been working to make the world of entrepreneurship more inclusive, providing support, funding, and opportunities to underrepresented founders, especially women, disabled people, and those from ethnic minority backgrounds.
The findings of The Entrepreneurs Club report have shown us that this work is more important than ever.
Women, people of colour, and disabled people are all underestimated in entrepreneurship, and marginalised communities report lower confidence in their own abilities.
Steps need to be taken to bridge this confidence and opportunity gap, opening up the ‘entrepreneurs club’ to a wider cross-section of society and demonstrating that business ownership can be for anyone.
Voices of The Entrepreneurs Club
“I think in society we get given a particular image of what an entrepreneur looks like, how an entrepreneur should relate to people, how they should be pitching for things. What excites me is doing things very differently from that.”
“Launching and running a business has come with its challenges. As a Black female entrepreneur, I have experienced bias due to both my race and gender. The limited peer support groups, accessible mentorship programmes and lack of funding for Black female entrepreneurs at times created difficulty for me.”
“I kind of had this idea that business was very kind of serious and straight-laced before I started running one myself. Entrepreneurship lends itself really well to people with disabilities because it just offers you that degree of flexibility.”
“Completing the Hatch Enterprise course changed my life. It feels amazing to finally call myself a business owner. Without it I would never have reached this point”.
“I think I’m so passionate about this entrepreneurial space because when I was employed, you could not tell me that I was going to be an entrepreneur and have freedom and be passionate about the work that I do and give back because I was so stuck in this fixed mindset that this is what it is and this is what it needs to look like.”
“I would never go back, I love running my own business. As a Black woman, in an organisation I always hit a ceiling. Running a business is liberating, there aren’t those limits.”
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