Scale Ireland, supported by Microsoft for Startups, Hadfield Green, Republic of Work and Atlantic Bridge, launched a ‘State of Start-ups’ Survey to gauge the sentiment of founders around the country under the headings of economy, employment, taxation, state assistance, gender and climate. 230 start-up founders and CEOs completed the survey, which comprised 26 questions.
Read the SurveyThe findings provide valuable information and insights about the challenges facing founders and the sector at this critical time. A summary of the key findings is listed below.
45.4% of respondents said they found it more difficult than last year while 41.5% have lost staff in 2021.
Read the Survey74.2% of respondents did not avail of EIIS, 77.7% did not avail of KEEP and 65.9% did not avail of the R&D credit.
Read the Survey70.7% of startups don’t have a sustainability or climate action plan, with 45.1% citing it as not a priority.
Read the SurveyMarketing and sales was cited by 48% of startups as an area where they lacked expertise, with only 14.4% saying they felt they didn’t lack expertise in any area.
Read the Survey53.4% of respondents believe greater visibility of leading female founders will increase the number of female founders, while 35.4% think more mentoring would assist.
Read the Survey79% of startups found it difficult (57.6%) or extremely difficult (21.4%) to raise capital. Securing funding was cited as the single biggest priority of 47.2% of startup founders/CEOs.