The number of startup founders is increasing: In 2017, around 108,000 people in Germany founded 60,000 startup companies, according to a recent study by KfW.
Compared to 2016, this represents an increase of around 16 percent among founders and 11 percent among startups. The study defines startups as innovation- or growth-oriented young companies.
The growth is even more pronounced among startups that are both innovation- and growth-oriented: 29,000 founders have launched 12,500 such "startups in the narrower sense." This represents an increase of 53 percent for founders and 39 percent for startups compared to 2016.
“Despite a decline in start-up activity over the past few years, the number of innovative and growth-oriented startups increased in 2017,”
says Dr. Jörg Zeuner, Chief Economist of KfW.
"The German economy needs these dynamic young companies to stay fit for the future. They, in particular, are often the ones who make new technologies suitable for application and thus ensure their widespread adoption."
Startup founders are often young men
A closer look at the startup founders studied reveals that they are, on average, three to five years younger than other young entrepreneurs. Although the proportion of founders under 30 is higher than among other young entrepreneurs, founders over 50 are just as common.
The startup scene is even more male-dominated than the general startup scene. While the proportion of women among all startups in 2017 was 37 percent, according to the study authors, only 10 to 20 percent of startup founders are female. Zeuner says:
"Women are even more underrepresented as startup founders than they already are in the overall startup scene. There are various reasons for this, but it's clear that women are less likely to complete STEM courses—and thus less likely to work in startup-related fields. If we could get more women interested in STEM, we would see more women as startup founders."
