written by
Vincent Chen

15 Interesting Facts Every Startup Needs To Know

Tech Leadership 3 min read
Startup facts
Photographer: Austin Distel | Source: Unsplash

I hope these interesting startup facts will get you fired-up!

1. Fail to start

35% of new businesses fail within the first year.

2. Fail, Fail and Fail – 70% Of Them Fail

According to CBI Insights, 9/10 new startup fail due to not having to do their market research before launching. Hence, they offer products or services that people do not need or want. Next time you think you have got the next big idea, perhaps ask around and do some market research.

3. After five years

Congratulations on reaching your 6th year of starting up your business. However, don’t get too comfortable now, founders may need to figure out how to scale without crashing the whole company. Some say that 9 out of 10 startups will still eventually fail after five years.

4. There Are Three New Startups in Every Second

There are roughly three new startups launch globally every second. That is 11,000 per hour or 25,9200 per day!

5. Unicorn

Unicorn? Is it a complimentary gift for starting a business that worth at least a billion-dollar? I am going to start tomorrow!

Jokes aside, in the business world a “unicorn” is when a startup is worth at least a billion dollars, and there are currently around 170+ companies that qualify for it. Do they have a book on how to pet a Unicorn?

6. Startups are getting more common.

As of 2016, the United States has to lead the most startups with 4.8 million of them. India with 2 million and the United Kingdom with 845,000 of them.

7. Industry

While most startups have been revolving around emerging technology, it can be easy to forget about other industries as well. These include finance, insurance, real estate, as well as education and health.

8. Startups get Investments from Surprising Places.

Startups once had to rely on banks and investment firms, and now, there are a much wider variety of investment options such as crowdfunding and angel funds.

Where once startups had to rely on banks and investment firms, they can now turn to a wide variety of investment opportunities ranging from angel funds to crowdfunding.

9. Entrepreneurs Start Out Working for Other People

Did you know 70% of the entrepreneurs had incubated their big idea while they were working for someone else, according to Harvard Business Review. The data revealed that many entrepreneurs started their own business to get away from bad leadership.

10. Most Aren’t That Concerned with Equity Splits.

Dividing up money seems like it would be a big deal, but 80% of startup founders spent less than an hour negotiating their equity split according to Noam Wasserman, author of “The Founder’s Dilemma.”

11. Most Founders Don’t Stay On as CEO

Not everyone can become a CEO. While many founders start their business with the idea of becoming the CEO of its own company, many cannot do so. Approximately 52% of the startup CEOs were removed from their role. On the other hand, the CEOs who can retain as a CEO would pass tasks that they cannot perform onto a capable employee instead.

12. Information Technology Companies Are Most Likely to Fail

According to the Statistics Brain Research Institute on startup failure by industry, tech companies were ranked relatively high. According to the research, 37% of tech companies are still operating after four years. On the other hand, real estate, finance, and insurance were the most likely business to remain, with 58% still running after four years.

13. Startups with Teams Succeed

Startups with more than two founders, a well-balanced team as well as having someone who has a right eye in discovering potentials were more likely to succeed.

14. Anti-social

Anti-social behaviour is strong predictors of entrepreneurial success.

15. It’s never too late!

When you talk about startups, do you think of these founders to be all young? No, seriously, no. The average age of startup founders is currently 40. So, it is never too late to pursue your dreams.

Fonseka Innovations

I hope you are fired-up as I am. Start incubating your ideas. It could perhaps get you that Unicorn as well!

Fonseka Innovations provides a great consulting workshop that will help strategically plan your business for success. Interested? You can check it out here.

startup startups facts interesting