Startup founders say getting your company funded has never been easier
- In a recent study by Silicon Valley Bank, startup founders said 2018 will be a promising year for new businesses.
- Entrepreneurs said it was easier to secure funding than ever before, especially through traditional avenues like raising venture capital.
- Silicon Valley Bank's findings also show the top difficulty for new businesses lies in finding skilled employees to fill open positions.
2018 is filled with potential for enterprising entrepreneurs, at least according to most startup founders.
On Tuesday, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) released the findings from its Startup Outlook report which surveys startup founders around the world.
Burgeoning companies are finding it increasingly easy to obtain funding early on, which is a sentiment that carries over from last year: A survey released in December found that entrepreneurs think it's a great time to start a company due to ease of fundraising. And despite the increasing popularity of securing funding through initial coin offerings (ICOs), founders say their top funding sources are still through venture capitalists.
In addition to these findings, SVB reported on other insights into the current startup climate:
The top strain on fledgling businesses is finding great talent for their teams.
64% of founders reported the most challenging issue affecting their companies was access to talent, and nearly all founders said they found finding workers with the appropriate skill level to be extremely difficult. Other concerns reported were healthcare costs and cybersecurity risks.
More and more startups are putting forth efforts to place women in leading roles.
Startup founders say they're putting forth a concerted effort to make their companies more diverse by putting programs in place to increase the roles of leadership for women. There's good reason for their efforts: Nearly three quarters of the startups surveyed have no women on their board of directors.
Most startups count at least one immigrant among the founding members on their teams.
More than half of the startups surveyed said they counted at least one immigrant among their founding team. Founders also reported an increase in US regulation has them moving their operations outside of the US. The country's increasingly stringent immigration policy has become an especially important issue for nascent businesses, which are often eager to harness overseas talent.
Startups are hiring at record rates.
80% of startups say they're searching for fresh talent, which is the highest reported rate since 2013. Still, founders stress the difficulty of finding suitable skill levels required for the jobs they hope to fill.