It is generally understood that someone needs a lot of money to start a business, with loans from the bank the typical avenue of sourcing those funds.
But around a quarter of entrepreneurs actually spend less than £1,000 in the first year of their business. Almost the same amount (24%) spent less than £5,000 in the first year and just 6.7% spent more than £100,000.
The survey, by start-up community Shell LiveWire, found that almost three-quarters of entrepreneurs use their personal savings to fund the launch of their business. Nearly a third (30%) borrow money from friends and family, 10% used a bank loan, and less than 5% used crowdfunding.
More than half of the 241 entrepreneurs surveyed said they started their business on their own, while a fifth teamed up with friends.
