We all know that entrepreneurs are the engine of economic growth. But they’re only human. Over the past decade at The Entrepreneurs Network, I’ve seen firsthand how the incredible role entrepreneurs play in society can come at a cost. Running a business puts unique – and sometimes profound – pressures on people.
That’s why I penned the foreword to Christina Richardson’s robust new report on the topic of founder resilience. Christina is an Adviser to the network, the Founder of Foundology and an Associate Professor in Entrepreneurship at UCL School of Management.
Founder Resilience Research 2024 draws on insights from hundreds of entrepreneurs, providing a comprehensive view of the obstacles founders face. As I write in my foreword:
“That 93% of founders report signs of mental health strain, with stress and anxiety levels five times higher than the UK national average, should be a wake-up call for us all. Despite 92% of founders expressing passion for their work, only a small fraction feel adequately supported. Just 43% feel they have a strong support system, especially as their ventures grow, and 76% report feelings of loneliness – a figure 50% higher than CEOs more generally. The personal cost of entrepreneurship is undeniable.”
But it’s not all doom and gloom. The report also outlines some of the solutions and sets out what founders with high resilience do.
Whatever lens you see it through – resilience, mental health, coping skills, self-care, mindfulness, wellness – clearly this stuff matters on a personal level to many of you reading this. But it also matters to our ecosystem as a whole. I wholeheartedly recommend the report for anyone who cares about this – feed your mind.
Mega Fun
In her first Mansion House speech, Rachel Reeves announced the creation of Canadian- and Australian style- “megafunds” through the consolidation of the defined contribution market and Local Government Pension Schemes.
It was nice to have some positive news for a change, so we helped pen and signed a letter with the Startup Coalition, the BioIndustry Association, techUK, UK Business Angels Association, Founders Forum Group, Tech Nation and UK Day One which broadly welcomed the announcement.
It would be remiss if I didn’t share the paragraph from the press release that raises some slight concerns: “Local economies will be boosted by the changes as each Administering Authority will be required to specify a target for the pool’s investment in their local economy, working in partnership with Local and Mayoral Combined Authorities to identify the best opportunities to support local growth. If each Administering Authority were to set a 5% target, that would secure £20 billion of investment in local communities.”
However, there is clearly wiggle room, and subsequent statements by Pensions Minister Emma Reynolds suggests the government isn’t looking to politicise investment: “She said the government will not tell pension fund managers they must invest more in private equity but due to the larger scale they will be able to invest in a ‘broader range of assets, and that’s what we see in Canada and Australia.’”
But just in case, I would direct them to the case of the University of Rochester. In the early 1970s, it had the third largest endowment in the US, after Harvard and the University of Texas. However, the administrators decided to invest locally in companies such as Kodak and Xerox, which suffered in the 1970s and 1980s. As a result, the university had to dramatically downsize in the mid-1990s. The insights from my 2020 post on sovereign wealth funds are as true now as they have always been.
In The Stars
We also welcome the Chancellor’s backing of PISCES, which has been a massively underreported innovation. It will offer new avenues for private companies and investors to trade shares. As Nick Graves, Partner at Burges Salmon, wrote: “Participating on PISCES will support companies to scale up and grow, providing liquidity, helping shareholders, including employee shareholders, to realise their gains, and providing an opportunity to companies to rationalise their shareholder base. Investors will gain better access to exciting companies while also benefiting from greater transparency and efficiency than available in private markets.”
Invest In Women
Last week the official members of the Invest in Women Taskforce (IWT) were announced. IWT is an industry-led, government-backed initiative with a mission to create the largest funding pot in the world for female investors, with a mandate to back female-powered businesses. The Taskforce has official support from Rachel Reeves and has welcomed Minister Gareth Thomas at the Department for Business and Trade.
I’m delighted to be on the Ecosystem Working Group, alongside Hannah Bernard and Juliet Gouldman from Barclays, Irene Graham from the Scale-Up Institute, Alex Daly from Arosa Capital / CIFE, and some other incredible champions of female entrepreneurship.
Before the end of the year, we’ll be releasing a report in the House of Lords with the IWT. We’ll provide more details next week, but join us for the chance of getting an earlier email invitation (until we start launching reports in football stadiums, demand will outstrip supply for these sorts of events).