Overview
- About 80% of UK teenagers aged 16–19 believe a university degree is critical to success, yet 75% nurture aspirations to start their own businesses.
- More than one-third (36%) are already earning money from side hustles as they juggle academic plans with entrepreneurial ambitions.
- Over half of respondents (51%) cite lack of funding and 46% point to insufficient expert guidance as the main barriers to launching a business.
- A majority of teens (61%) say schools fail to deliver practical business education or entrepreneurship skills.
- Applications for the Young Entrepreneur Fund close on 9 October 2025 and will award ten winners £5,000 each after they complete Hatch Enterprise’s support programme judged by Professor Green.