More students forming start-ups at university

Almost one-in-ten new start-ups are being established while their founders are still in education, according to new research by PeoplePerHour.

With the number of start-ups being formed by students increasing by 54 per cent in the last year, it seems that the current economic and business climate is fuelling a growing generation of self-made entrepreneurs.

More than a third (37 per cent) of survey respondents said they met the co-founder of their new business venture at university.

The study revealed that more than half (57 per cent) of undergraduates who had started a business cited the lack of job security upon graduation as a key driver behind starting up their own business.

A further 45 per cent of undergraduates said their motive for starting up a new business was to earn additional cash whilst still in education, while a third (34 per cent) said they had always envisaged becoming their own boss.

Almost half (42 per cent) of student entrepreneurs revealed they worked a minimum of 20 hours on their start-up each week whilst in full-time education; with an additional 15 per cent spending up to 50 hours per week on honing their business skills.

Almost a third (31 per cent) of full-time students surveyed said they managed to get their start-up off the ground within three months, displaying a clear aptitude for entrepreneurship.

The most popular cities in the UK for young entrepreneurs were found in London, Bristol and Liverpool.

Xenios Thrasyvoulou, founder and CEO, PeoplePerHour, said: “A major factor in this growing trend of new small business owners across the younger generations, is how cheap and easy it is to set up a business and build a client base from day one.

“The barriers of starting a business being lowered is one of the main reasons we’re seeing such a noticeable rise in students choosing the self-employment route earlier than ever before.”

Date published 8 Apr 2015 | Last updated 8 Apr 2015