Joining a startup may appear fashionable on the surface, but today’s students are not sold.
According to a new piece of research commissioned by YouGov and the IDA, the tech arm of the Singapore Government, less than 10% of students are interested in going it alone and launching their own business. The majority of students (61%) still prefer the safety and security of a role at a large corporate. These new figures will come as a big surprise to many as we reported last week senior workers are swapping their suits for startups at record rates.
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Snapshot of British startup challenges
The two findings show how opinions change after spending time in the workplace. The research released today involved students who have not entered the workforce, and prefer the traditional route of joining a large corporate.
Angel investor Sherry Coutu also recognised the trend and has campaigned tirelessly to promote entrepreneurship to young students through Founders4Schools. Launched in 2011, Coutu’s initiative connects successful business leaders with schools in their local area and encourages students to consider becoming entrepreneurs. Even though the programme is relatively young it has seen big successes with 54% of students requesting more information about business planning or technology skills after just one event.
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The research released today also revealed some areas of concern for tech businesses in Britain. 41% of companies surveyed said growing their customer base was their largest problem for the future and yet most revealed they had no immediate plans to expand internationally. Entry into new markets is essential for most businesses looking to scale and yet British startups appear to not be looking beyond their home market for expansion.
In an interview ahead of today’s announcement, Steve Leonard, Executive Deputy Chairman of the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, told The Memo he hopes more entrepreneurs will look East for new customers. South East Asia (known collectively as ASEAN) could offer 600 million new customers alone, Leonard explained.
Singapore’s government has marked out the growing area of ‘smart cities’, technologies that improve and enhance urban life, as a top priority for the country. Today at the Unbound Digital conference, Leonard will reveal more about the country’s ambitions to become a world tech leader and its plans to work more closely with British tech businesses.
Today’s students still crave corporate life but the tide is turning, albeit slowly. British businesses must think globally from day one to compete with their American counterparts and stay on top of the game.
The Memo’s new video series on Smart Cities will launch this week in association with Innovation Agency Entiq. Look out for it on Reuters, Youtube and The Memo website.
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