This list is a compilation of every essential fact and stat you could possibly need to know about startups. Everything from the top cities for startups to the largest startup industries, success stories, failures, and predictions for the future of startups can be found here in our research on startup statistics. Let’s get started.
Startup Location Statistics
1. US Startups Are the Fastest Growing in the World
There are currently more than 75,600 startups based in the USA. And many of the world’s highest-earning startup companies are based in the USA. The US has long been the best place in the world to start a company, and this prospect doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon.
2. India Is the Country with the Most Startups in Asia
The country in Asia with the most startups is India. In recent decades, India has been one of the fastest-growing economies, with thousands upon thousands of companies being formed and many major startups coming out of the Asian giant. Bengaluru is the city in India with the most startups and is considered “the Silicon Valley of India.”
3. The UK Is the Country with the Most Startups in Europe
The United Kingdom is another major player on the world stage of startups. The largest unicorn startup companies in the UK are Checkout.com and Revolut. Each of these companies is valued at over $30 billion.
4. Brazil Is the Country with the Most Startups in South America
Brazil, the most populated country by far in South America, unsurprisingly leads the continent in the number of startups as well. QuintoAndar is the country’s largest unicorn company, valued at around $5 billion.
5. The UAE Has the Most Startups in the Middle East
Dubai and Abu Dhabi are magnets for new businesses in the Middle East. The futuristic metropolises in the United Arab Emirates boast an incredible array of companies. The largest startup in the UAE is Careem, a ride-sharing app used across the Middle East.
6. Nigeria Has the Most Startups in Africa
Nigeria is another country with one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. The number of startups in Nigeria is multiplying exponentially each year. 4 of the 7 African unicorn startups are based in Nigeria, with the largest being Flutterwave, worth $3 billion.
7. Australia Has the Most Startups in Oceania
Australia is one of the best countries for startups in the world, with a huge number of high-value companies based there. The largest startup in the country/continent is Canva, valued at over $40 billion.
8. San Fransisco is the City with the Most Successful Startups in the World
It is no surprise that San Fransisco’s Silicon Valley is the best city in the world to start a company. Silicon Valley has been home to the largest concentration of venture capital firms since the 1980s and is home to a plethora of the world’s largest tech companies.
9. New York City is the Second Largest Startup City in the World, Followed by London
New York and London trail behind San Fransisco as the best startup cities in the world, but both are booming with successful companies and may someday surpass Silicon Valley.
Startup Industry Statistics
10. Healthcare and AI Are Among the Most Popular Startup Industries
Due to the rapid rise of healthcare during the pandemic and HUGE advances in AI technology in the past year, these industries have joined others as the most successful startup industries.
11. Around a Fifth of All Unicorn Companies Are in FinTech
Around 21% of all unicorn startups are in FinTech, making this the most successful startup industry. Stripe is the largest FinTech startup, valued at over $50 billion.
13. SHEIN is the Largest E-commerce Startup in the World
Offering affordable clothing, this Chinese brand is valued at a whopping $100 billion, making it the largest E-commerce and retail startup.
14. Internet and Software Services Is the Second-Largest Startup Industry
Software accounts for another significant portion of successful startups, with 18% of the share of all unicorns. The largest Internet and software services company is Canva.
14. Manufacturing Is the Fastest-Declining Industry in the USA
While FinTech, AI, healthcare, E-commerce, and software are HUGE industries in the USA, manufacturing is quickly shrinking and fizzling away. That said, microchip manufacturing is a growing industry in the US.
Startup Successes
15. ByteDance, the TikTok Parent Company, Is the Most Valuable Startup in the World
TikTok has exploded since its release in 2017, becoming the fastest-growing social media platform. ByteDance, which also owns Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok), Toutiao (a Chinese news platform), CapCut (a video editing software), and PICO (a virtual reality headset), is valued at more than $220 billion, making it the most valuable private company.
16. Only Around 1% of Startups Become Unicorns
Becoming a unicorn, or a startup with more than $1 billion in revenue, is the dream for any entrepreneur. But this is only a reality for a small number of the many, many startups.
17. There Are Currently Over 1,200 Unicorn Startups
There are currently around 1,200 startups valued at over $1 billion. The top 5 are Bytedance ($220 billion), Space X ($150 billion), SHEIN ($100 billion), STRIPE ($50 billion), and Canva ($40 billion).
18. Apple Is the Most Successful Company Founded in the 1970s
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded Apple in 1976 and changed how people thought about computers. Once a small startup, Apple is now the largest company in the world by market cap.
19. Amazon and Google Are the Most Successful Startups Founded in the 1990s
It is hard to imagine a world without Google Search or Amazon Marketplace, but before the 1990s, we had neither. These two companies both had humble beginnings as startups but made great leaps to become some of the most successful companies today.
20. Facebook (Now Meta) Is the Most Successful Startup Founded in the 2000s
Mark Zuckerberg and Eduardo Saverin created Facebook as a social media to connect Harvard students in 2004. But the site quickly spread to the general public, changing social media forever. The company now owns Instagram, Whatsapp, and Oculus Quest. Today, Meta has a market cap of over $800 billion.
21. The Fastest Company to Reach $1 Billion in Revenue is Bird
Bird is an electronic scooter rental company that was founded in September 2017. The founder of Bird was previously the COO of Lyft and the VP of international growth at Uber. By June 2018, Bird was valued at over $2 billion, making it the fastest startup to become a unicorn.
22. Failure Doesn’t Make You More Likely to Succeed
Studies have shown that startup founders who have previously failed are less likely to succeed than those who have not failed and are just about as likely to succeed as those who have never started a business before. But with that said, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again!”
Startup Failures
23. 20% of Startups Fail in the First Year
Starting a business is not for the weak-hearted. Many startups fail within the first year of business for various reasons.
24. 70% of Startups Fail in Ten Years
While 8 out of 10 startups make it through their first year, 7 out of 10 are out of business within a decade after opening.
25. In 2022, Nearly ⅓ of Startups That Failed Were Due to the Pandemic
During the first year of the pandemic, nearly 200,000 businesses closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2022, around one-third of the failed startups claimed the pandemic as their cause of “death.”
26. The Main Reason Startups Fail Is That They Run Out of Money
It is true that for the past few years, the pandemic was a huge contributor to startups failing. But, in general, the primary reason startups run out of business is a lack of funds.
27. 14% of Startups Fail Due to “Bad” Marketing
A recent study shows that many startups fail because their marketing wasn’t good enough to get their name out there, they spent too much money on marketing, or their marketing strategy ruined their reputation.
28. 90% of Startups Eventually Fail
No one has ever claimed that starting a successful company is easy. And unfortunately, only 10% of startups stay in business in the end, with 9 out of 10 eventually going out of business.
29. Less than 1% of US Startups Go Public
The end goal of a startup company is to go public. But sadly, 99% of companies never reach this benchmark. Many are still wildly successful as private companies, but a very small percentage make it to the stock exchange.
Startup Costs and Expenses Statistics
30. There Are 2 Countries Where It Is Free to Start a Business
Rwanda and Slovenia are the cheapest countries in the world to register a business. In fact, it is completely free in both countries to open a company.
31. The UAE Is the Most Expensive Country to Start a Business
On the other end of the spectrum, three countries in the Middle East are the most expensive places to start a company. In the UAE, it costs $7,444, followed by Qatar, where it costs $3,952, and in Lebanon, it costs $2,855.
32. It Takes up to Three Years for Startups to Start Profiting
Most startups don’t start bringing in money right away. The average time it takes for startups to begin making a profit is around 2 to 3 years.
33. The Biggest Expense For New Startups Is Generally Salaries
Salaries and wages account for up to 50% of a new startup company’s expenses.
Startup Team Statistics
34. The Average Number of Employees In a Startup is Only 4
This may surprise you as many think of startups having hundreds of employees, but most startups in the USA actually have zero employees.
35. Startups With Employees In Offices Grow Faster Than Those With Work At Home Systems
Working from home is the new norm after the Covid-19 Pandemic, but studies still show that when employees from an office, the company grows MUCH faster.
36. Startup Teams are Shrinking
In 1994 the average size of a startup company was five employees, but as of 2019, this number has shrunk to four.
37. Nearly One Fifith of Startups Fail Due to Problems With Their Team
Employees are extremely important in a startup and make up the lifeblood of the company. In fact, 18% of startups that fail do so because of issues with their team.
Startup Funding Statistics
38. More Than 20% of Startups Start Out with Less Than $5,000 in Capital
Having funding is one of the most important parts of starting a successful business, but over a fifth of all startups get started with only $5,000.
39. Nearly 14% of Startups Need More Than $100,000 in Capital to Start Out
Less than a sixth of startups need more than $100,000 to get started. The types of companies that need this kind of cash are restaurants, manufacturing companies, and other businesses with lots of opening costs.
40. Around 2% of Startups Need to Start with More Than $1 Million in Funding
While many startups eventually spend well over $1 million before seeing any profit, a small percentage of startups need over $1 million to cover expenses before they can even begin operating.
41. Less Than 1% of Startups Raise Funding Using Venture Capital
Venture capital is the type of funding you see in the headlines, and you might closely associate it with being the main type of funding for businesses. But, only .05% of startups use venture capital.
42. More than Three-Quarters of Startups Use Personal Savings for Initial Funding
While a quarter of startup companies get their initial funding through investment, crowdfunding, grants, loans, credit cards, or other means, most startups fund their ventures using their personal savings.
43. The Largest Kickstarter Campaign for a Startup Raised $10,266,845
Pebble, a smartwatch company that was eventually bought out by Fitbit for $23 million, raised an enormous sum of over $10 million on Kickstarter in 2013.
Startup Demographics
44. The Average Startup Founder’s Age Is around 35-45 Years Old
While the pop culture image of a startup founder is a young 20-something college dropout, the average age for founders is actually much older.
45. People Aged 60 Years and Older Took the Smallest Share in Startup Ownership
While the average age for startup owners is nearing middle-aged, only around 5% of startup owners are more than 60 years old.
46. Females Only Account For 15% of the Owners of Tech Startups
Tech startups are the most valuable companies in the world, but unfortunately, 8 out of 10 tech startup founders are men. That said, the amount of female-led startups is rising year by year.
47. In 2016, Only 4% of the Female-Led Startups in the USA Were Owned By Black Women
Nearly 14% of US women are African American, but only around 4% of the startups owned by females were owned by black women in the USA.
48. 95% of Entrepreneurs Have a College Degree
It is easy to imagine an entrepreneur to be a college dropout such as Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, and Larry Ellison. But a vast majority of business owners graduated from college. A further 50% of these entrepreneurs with college degrees went on to get a master’s.
49. The Most Popular Degree for Startup Founders Is Engineering
Of the 95% of entrepreneurs who got a college degree, around a third of them got their degree in some form of engineering. Science took the second spot with just over 20%.
50. More Than Half of the Top Startups in the USA Are Owned by Immigrants
A surprising statistic to many is that immigrants own more than 50% of the largest startups in the USA. The largest are Space X (Elon Musk, South Africa), Stripe (John and Patrick Collison, Ireland), and Instacart (Apoorva Mehta, India).
Startup Predictions for the Future
51. AI Is One of the Most Promising Industries Looking Forward
Many tech and computer science experts have predicted AI technology to continue advancing at a booming pace, and many large companies have already invested billions of dollars into AI.
52. Sustainability Is Being Increasingly Important to Consumers
Year after year, the threat of climate change, plastic waste, the rising occurrence of natural disasters, and worsening pollution has caused more and more consumers to look for companies with a sustainable approach. More and more startups are expected to use a sustainability agenda, and green energy, alternative protein, and other sustainable industries are expected to grow.
53. The Silicon Valley Tech Industry Is Expected to Shrink, and the East Coast Startups Are Expected to Multiply
Silicon Valley still reigns supreme, but with massive amounts of layoffs in the tech industry and the rapidly rising numbers of startups on the east coast, NYC is expected to become the next hub for tech companies.
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