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June 19, 2015

Diversity drives success in UK's start-up culture

Diversity drives success in UK's start-up cultureThe UK has one of the world's most diverse start-up ecosystems, according to new research.

Compared to the United States, those working in UK start-ups are five times more likely to be female; two and a half times more likely to be under the age of 36 and ten times more likely to be from a different ethnicity, other than white and Asian.

These are the findings of a new research project, StartupDNA, commissioned by Wayra UK, Telefónica Open Future's digital start-up accelerator.

It has found that women make up almost one third of the UK start-up population and over half are under the age of 35. The researchers describe the UK as a "global entrepreneur magnet", with 34% of the start-up population coming from abroad.

The key findings include:

  • Start-ups are 36% more likely to have female leaders than FTSE100 companies;
  • Of the 34% of UK entrepreneurs who come from outside the UK, most are from the EU;
  • Over 50% say that global reach is an aim for their business;
  • 79% say diversity helps their start-up compete and 71% say it helps find new markets.

Simon Fanshawe, of Astar-Fanshawe, says diversity is helping the UK create a dominant start-up centre in Europe, similar to Silicon Valley.

"For too long, cultural differences and even languages were seen as putting the UK at some kind of disadvantage," he said. "But this research clearly demonstrates the impact the UK's rich social makeup is having on the growth and performance of our fledgling businesses."

Lawrence Wintermeyer, ceo of Innovate Finance said: "This report shows that diversity makes sense. It brings new ideas for services and different solutions to problems in a world of changing markets and customer demands. It is also brings a range of skills, experience and cultural understanding to inform companies."

Despite the overall results, there is still some disparity in levels of diversity between sectors. For instance, no men in the survey reported being involved in the lifestyle sector and no women reported being part of a banking and finance start-up.

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