Young entrepreneurs see growth on horizon

As technology opens the world of business to more people, innovators have amassed fortunes at the age many people are just starting their careers.

Take Jamal Edwards, founder of SB.TV. Aged 16, Mr Edwards launched a YouTube channel to share videos he produced with friends.

Nine years later, SB.TV is a multi-million pound online broadcaster.

With stories like this, it is not surprising that young entrepreneurs are optimistic about their future.

Research from Albion Ventures found business owners aged under 35 are on average twice as ambitious about their company’s prospects than older generations.

One in six (14 per cent) under-35s predicted their firm would grow dramatically over the next two years, compared to just eight per cent of 45 to 50-year-olds.

Younger entrepreneurs were four times as likely to hire new staff than older business owners, the survey of 1,000 SMEs found.

In the last year, 29 per cent of millennial entrepreneurs have attempted to raise finance, compared to 14 per cent of their middle-aged counterparts.

Under-35s are more likely to adopt riskier funding strategies, such as using credit cards.

One in four (23 per cent) have put business costs on plastic, compared to five per cent of older owners. They also have more appetite for external equity raising than older age groups, suggesting a shift to “entrepreneurial” funding.

Patrick Reeve, managing partner at Albion Ventures, said: “The younger generation is by far the most optimistic and ambitious about the future.

“This pro-growth sentiment is excellent news for the UK economy as the under-35s will become increasingly influential over the years to come.”