New report finds record numbers of diverse founders entering startup market

The report analyses the academic history, professional expertise, and demographics of 845 unicorn founders, 2,500 founders participating in Antler residencies, and more than 70,000 aspiring founders who have applied to Antler in Europe (38,000 of which are based in the UK), making it one of the largest ever studies of European tech founders.

A silver lining

Unlike the past, where unicorn founders predominantly hailed from consulting or corporate backgrounds, the current crop of European tech founders comprises individuals who previously worked at unicorns, large tech startups, and Big Tech firms. This shift signifies the maturing of Europe’s tech ecosystem. It also suggests that tech’s recent downward spirals – layoffs and stagnation – has created entrepreneurial opportunities.

The research reveals a significant connection between layoffs and an influx of aspiring tech entrepreneurs. Following layoffs at tech companies, Antler identified a staggering 391% surge in applications from employees seeking to embark on their own tech ventures.

Booking.com, Spotify, and Klarna are leading the pack in generating founders in Europe among large startups, while Microsoft, Google, and IBM dominate in producing entrepreneurs among the Big Tech firms.

Improved diversity? Depends on how you look at it

Whether or not the European startup ecosystem qualifies as being diverse depends on where you look. At the top end of the spectrum it remains perniciously bland; 96% of European unicorn founders are men. Encouragingly, 25% of the founders looking to start companies in the last three years were women. Yet this increased figure shouldn’t be misrepresented as a victory for diversity.

More needs to be done to accommodate female founders.

Interestingly, the report shows a 300% increase in the number of nationalities represented by Europe’s new tech founders compared to Europe’s unicorn founders.

The UK’s new founder engine rooms

Looking at the backgrounds of tech founders who have secured investment from Antler in the UK, the University of Cambridge, University of Lagos and University of Manchester produce graduates with the highest chance of receiving investment.

And based on the 38,000 aspiring founders who have applied to Antler in the UK, former employers of the Union Bancaire Privee, Credit Suisse, and Uber are most likely to secure investment for their tech startups.

Speaking on the report, Christoph Klink, Partner at Antler, said that “‘this data brings to life what we experience every day working with founders from day zero of their journey. In the last 12 months alone, we’ve invested in female rocket scientists sending satellites into space, mothers building a family at the same time as a proptech business, engineers who’ve found a way to extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and fintech experts keeping small businesses afloat during the economic downturn.

“Their backgrounds are different, but what unites them is the conviction that technology can make the world a better place. When I consider the founders I spend time with every day, I don’t think there’s ever been a more exciting time in the European tech ecosystem.”

Read the Europe’s New Tech Founders 2023 report, published by Antler, here.