Take SVB’s Startup Outlook Survey Today
At Silicon Valley Bank, we aim to help the innovation economy thrive. Every day our teams work with startups and scaling companies to help them achieve their goals and grow their businesses in a fast-changing, global marketplace.
From this vantage point, we get an expansive view of the innovation economy. We also hear about the in-the-trenches challenges like raising capital, hiring talent, increasing opportunity and diversity, and planning exits. Since we work with more than half of all venture-capital backed companies, we take the opportunity to understand their point of view and use it collectively to advocate for their success.
The Outlook for Startups
Nine years ago, after we had been travelling to Washington D.C. to explain the opportunities startup companies create and the challenges they face, we got an idea: Instead of just telling stories, let’s quantify what we’re hearing from our clients. We launched Startup Outlook.
Since then, we’ve been conducting a short survey each fall for two key reasons: To help us do a better job as a champion for young, innovative companies, and to help the public and policymakers gain a better understanding of what drives innovation and its growing impact on local and global economies. We started in 2010 with only a U.S. survey and report, and in the past few years we have added U.K. and China editions.
At a time when some are questioning the positive impact of the innovation sector, I remain optimistic thanks to a vast network of incredible entrepreneurs focused on disrupting the status quo for the better. We use the Startup Outlook survey to track trends and use the findings to focus on the issues that are most important to startups. The findings help us as we try to clear the path for our clients as well as tech and life science companies at large.
Our Ask
If you are a founder or executive at a private tech, healthcare or life science company, your perspective is important and we want to capture it. You can take our Startup Outlook survey here.
We expect the results, which will be released in early 2018, to identify some interesting perspectives:
- Are venture capitalists still the go-to source for startup funding?
- Will IPOs and M&A increase in 2018?
- Is the talent crunch easing?
- What do startup leaders think about corporate tax reform, access to talent and cybersecurity?
- What’s the real impact of Brexit on startup businesses?
- Is progress being made to change the ratio of women in leadership in startups?
In the last year there has been a lot of news, and noise, creating conversation and speculation about the innovation sector around the world. Through this survey, we can bring a broader set of startups’ voices and perspectives to those conversations. From where we sit, we see incredible entrepreneurs continuing to tackle some of the world’s biggest problems, creating jobs and contributing to stronger economies. Thanks in advance for your participation.