How can Europe remain competitive? Who will shape the European business location of tomorrow? The recently published European Startup Monitor examines Europe's startup scene and provides a transparent assessment of the profitability of young, innovative companies.
The current – and incidentally also the first – European Startup Monitor (ESM) shows that startups contribute significantly to Europe's economic viability through innovative and growth-oriented business models.
The study, which was conducted by Federal Association of German Startups (BVDS) is based on a survey of over 2,300 startups from 15 European countries. The ESM was published with the support of partners KPMG AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft, Telefónica Deutschland, and Google Germany GmbH.
Positive mood among Europe's founders
The ESM was launched with the intention of providing a transparent overview of the European startup landscape and demonstrating the increasing importance of these young companies for Europe as a business location. The following results were evaluated in the study:
• According to ESM, most startups are founded by a team of mostly 25 to 34-year-old entrepreneurs, of whom 14.7% are women
• 31.61% of employees come from a different country than the startup in which they work, and among the founders, it is more than one in ten (11.91% of employees)
• Business activities are very international: Half of all startups already operate across borders, and 8 out of 10 want to expand this further in the future
• 90% of the founders assess the current situation of their startup positively, 72% expect further positive development
• According to the respondents, the biggest challenges are sales or customer acquisition, raising capital and product development
• On average, each of the European startups surveyed has received €2.5 million in external capital and plans to raise a further €3.3 million in the next 12 months
European startups as real drivers of innovation
As the ESM clearly demonstrates, startups are serious players in the European economic landscape, especially in the digital economy. On average, they employ 13 people two and a half years after their founding and plan to create almost seven more jobs in the next 12 months.
They also act as real drivers of innovation, as Florian Nöll, Chairman of the BVDS, points out:
Two-thirds of the startups surveyed stated that they consider their products and/or services to be completely innovative. With their innovative products and services, these startups are ensuring our future prosperity; they are the middle class of tomorrow.
The ESM is intended not only to reflect the current situation but also to serve as a basis for future political decisions. SMEs of tomorrow can also receive effective support from this side.
