After the COVID-19 pandemic, a new wave of small business owners has surfaced, boosted by renewed hope. This trend isn’t limited to the U.S., too: globally, 16% of the workforce is now entrepreneurial.
Entrepreneurship is still on the rise, but success requires more than ideas - flawless execution matters. Discover these 10 entrepreneur statistics and grasp how this ecosystem evolves worldwide.
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Starting a small business
1. 5.1 million new U.S. businesses registered in 2022
While big companies often get a lot of attention, the truth is that most businesses in the U.S. are small businesses. Forbes calculates there are around 33.2 million of them. But how many have been created recently?
In 2022, people in the United States started around 5.1 million new businesses. To give you an idea, that is like filling out applications for about 14,000 new companies daily for a year.
Additionally, Business Insider said it was the second-highest number of new businesses in a year, just slightly less than the 5.4 million in 2021 and much more than the 3.5 million in 2019.
2. 25% of small business owners in the U.S. are women
Even though women-led small businesses have increased by at least 16.9% in the last 12 years, the gap is still wide compared to men.
According to Guidant Financial’s studies, 25% of business owners are women, which is significantly lower compared to the 75% representation of men.
However, the National Women’s Business Council in 2022 revealed that the number of women-owned businesses has grown.
For example, between 2012 and 2019, companies owned by women with employees witnessed an increase of 16.7%. In contrast, men-owned businesses only grew by 5.2% during the period.
3. Millennials own just 7% of U.S. small businesses
Even though millennials were supposed to be highly entrepreneurial, they own just 7% of the small businesses in The U.S.
The generation after millennials, known as Gen Z, owns even fewer, just 1% of small businesses. On the other hand, the majority of small businesses are owned by Baby Boomers, making up around 39.63%, and Generation X, making up about 47.20%.
Although there’s still a significant gap in business ownership between different generations, the number of millennial business owners increased by 6% compared to some studies about small business trends.
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Startup fundraising statistics
4. It’s 99% cheaper to start a tech firm than 18 years ago
This substantial cost reduction responds to several key factors. Thanks to cloud services, the rise of no-code tools, and artificial intelligence development, essential resources are more accessible and affordable than ever.
According to TechCrunch, these technologies have made it easier and 99% cheaper than 18 years ago for entrepreneurs to build and scale their products without investing in expensive hardware or software.
Additionally, founders can access free resources and expert guidance (such as the Skillademia courses) to help them succeed.
5. The number of startup accelerators has doubled since 2014
Accelerators speed up the growth of existing companies. These programs work within a set period, usually a few weeks to a few months, where individual businesses collaborate with mentors to strengthen operations and navigate challenges. Y Combinator, Techstars, and the Brandery are well-known examples of accelerators.
This surge in these programs has brought about significant changes in the talent pool available for tech startups. TechCrunch points out that since 2014, the number of accelerators has more than doubled, and the number of startups supported by accelerators in the U.S. has nearly quadrupled in the same time frame.
6. 75% more funds were pledged in Q1 and Q2 2022 compared to any quarter in 2021
Even though there were fewer good results as the year went on, in 2022, the positive influence from the previous year continued and still helped a lot.
People kept trying to get money for their new businesses and had a lot of success. But most of this hype happened at the beginning of 2022.
At the end of the year, the number of businesses sold and ended investments was relatively high, up to $5.2 billion (the lowest in over ten years).
Because of this, the money made from these deals throughout the year went down by a massive 90.5%. However, even though it decreased significantly, it is still more than what businesses got before the super busy time in 2021.
7. In 2022, family offices grew 5x, and corporate ventures rose 6x
In 2022, angel investments equaled the combined total from 2006 to 2011.
During that year alone, family office investments increased by five times their previous levels, while corporate venture investments grew by six.
This investment growth has opened new paths of financial support for entrepreneurs who previously struggled to get funding. However, venture capital in 2022 had both positive and negative aspects.
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Small business employability statistics
8. Around 1.7 million new businesses started in 2022 plan to hire people
This considerable increase in people starting new businesses in the U.S. has continued even with problems like higher prices, getting supplies, and worrying about the economy going down.
Every state in the U.S. had more of these new business applications than before the pandemic. And remember, of all the new businesses from 2022, around 1.7 million wanted to hire employees.
That could be a sign that the changes brought by the pandemic are making more people interested in starting their businesses for the long term.
9. Almost 50% of U.S. employees work at small businesses
Even though more than 80% of small businesses don’t have any employees, they still provide jobs to 61.7 million workers.
According to Forbes, these small businesses are responsible for employing 46.4% of all the workers in the country, helping to sustain an uncertain and inflationary economy.
10. 28% start businesses for independence
People have different reasons for becoming business owners in the U.S. Research from Guidant Financial found that almost one-third (28%) of people started their businesses because they wanted to have control and be their own bosses.
The same study mentioned that
- Around 23% wanted to be happier with how things worked in big companies.
- About 13% started their businesses because they were passionate about something.
- 10% began their businesses because they lost their jobs.
- 10% lost their jobs before retiring.
- Around 9% saw an opportunity and decided to grab it by starting a business.
- 4% got an idea they were excited about and wanted to turn it into a business.
- 2% started businesses because something important happened in their lives, like a divorce or a death.
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Final Thoughts:
Business owners deal with uncertain times and higher prices. That makes things challenging for small businesses, especially regarding keeping employees and managing supply chains.
However, entrepreneurship continues to rise. While the future for business is never certain, owners who use data strategically, embrace diversity, and solve problems through savvy planning will continue thriving.
