What’s Really Holding UK Founders Back?

When you ask most people why start-ups fail, the usual answer is simple, Lack of funding.

It’s the easy explanation. But spend any time around early-stage founders, and you start to realise there’s more to the story.

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At Vision to Venture, we’ve spent the past year speaking with new founders, side-hustlers, and small business owners across the UK. We’ve heard stories of late nights, constant juggling, and the never-ending challenge of trying to grow something from scratch, often without a clear support network to fall back on.

As we move towards 2026, we want to dig deeper into the reality of starting a business in Britain today. That’s why we’ve launched a short nationwide survey called “The Hidden Struggles of UK Founders”, designed to uncover what’s really standing in the way of success.

A Data-Led Look at Start-up Reality

The responses will form the backbone of our upcoming report, The State of UK Start-up Founders 2025. It will explore the human side of entrepreneurship, the challenges, the emotional toll, and the gaps that local networks and mentors could fill. By gathering insights from founders across every region, we want to paint a true picture of what starting up in the UK actually looks like.

Why It Matters

This isn’t just another start-up report. It’s a chance to spark a national conversation about how we can better support founders, especially those outside the main start-up hubs.

Because innovation doesn’t only happen in London, Manchester or Edinburgh. It happens in garages, spare rooms, and coffee shops all over the country, often led by people who just need the right guidance at the right time.

How You Can Take Part

If you’re a UK founder, business owner, or even just thinking about starting something new, we’d love to hear from you. It only takes two minutes to complete the survey, and your response will help shape a data-driven snapshot of the UK’s start-up landscape.

Take the Survey