Obtaining finance and skills shortages are the top concerns among start-ups.

According to a survey by the Institute of Directors (IoD) of 650 entrepreneurs under the age of 35, revealed that finding skilled employees and accessing scale-up finance are the most important issues for start-ups.

42% of entrepreneurs said they had trouble hiring people with the right skills, while 39% had difficulty accessing finance.

53% used money from family members to start their businesses, while 45% had used money from their friends.

56% of entrepreneurs had used personal unsecured finance such as credit cards.

Jimmy McLoughlin, deputy head of policy at the IoD, said:

“Finding people with the right skills, and tapping into the right mix of finance will be the biggest factors in achieving scale-up success. For start-ups, overcoming these obstacles can be the difference between success and failure.

“It is a worry, therefore, that so many start-ups struggle to hire skilled employees. The push to teach children digital skills, like programming, at school is part of the long-term solution, but we must remember that start-ups face skills shortages now.”