Food start-ups have the shortest survival duration

Food start-ups have the shortest survival duration

Top 10 Industries with the Shortest Lasting Start-ups

 

Rank	Industry	Average Median Survival Duration (days)	Average Median Survival Duration (years and months)
1	Food	905	2 years and 4 months
2	Security and Defence	908	2 years and 4 months
3	Textile	938	2 years and 5 months
4	Energy	947	2 years and 5 months
5	Wood	984	2 years and 6 months
6	Trade	988	2 years and 7 months
7	Information	1,017	2 years and 7 months
8	Advertising	1,035	2 years and 8 months
9	Construction	1,055	2 years and 8 months
10	Travel	1,068	2 years and 9 months

Key Findings:

• The food industry has the lowest start-up survival rate with companies lasting 905 days on average.
• This equates to approximately 2 years and 4 months.
• The sector includes businesses such as restaurants, takeouts, food and drink manufacture among others.

Following closely are start-ups in the security and defence industry  existing for an average of 908 days (approximately 2 years and 4 months).

The third industry with the shortest lasting start-ups is Textile. Companies in this sector survive for 938 days (approximately 2 years and 5 months) on average.

How to make your startup last the test of time…

1. “Keep track of your numbers: It’s essentially to constantly check your numbers and plan accordingly. Look at these at least monthly, if not weekly. Make sure you’re on top of your cash flow and where needed be prepared to make cuts, review costs or ask for help.
2. Look after your employees: Your staff are one of the most valuable assets of your business, and so it’s important to show you value them. Create a positive work environment by implementing perks and benefits, and remember to regularly ask them to contribute suggestions and feedback on the business. This will not only reduce turnover, but bring down expenses.
3. Listen to others: Starting a business can be a very personal experience, but it’s important to constantly check in with others for advice whether it be your customers, a mentor or staff.  Try to remove emotion from decisions, implement changes that are best for the business and follow the advice of those you trust.
4. Make time for marketing: In order for customers to find you, an online presence is essential. First and foremost, a simple, user-friendly website is a must. But to really attract clientele, try to stay active on social media, ensure you have healthy reviews and create a strong brand identity.
5. Reward loyalty: While attracting new customers is always important, don’t forget about your regulars. Existing clients and customers often generate higher spends and are open to trying new products. Ensure you reward their loyalty with discounts or promotions to keep them coming back.”

• Ofer Valencio Akerman, Spokesperson at Cashfloat

Please find the complete data sheet here.

Methodology

1. Cashfloat sought to discover the industries across the UK with the longest lasting start-up companies.
2. To begin with, a comprehensive sample of 3.2 million start-up businesses was acquired through the Companies House register. The attributes collected for each business included: company number, status, incorporation date, dissolution date, address and Standard Industry Classification code (SIC).
3. The SIC codes, which served as industry classifiers, were mapped to section and division level classifications using a consolidated list of SIC codes sourced from Gov.uk, which allowed for industry section level comparisons to be made.
4. In order to obtain accurate results, companies with no supplied industry classifications and those currently active were omitted from the research. Out of 3.2 million start-ups in total, data was collected and aggregated for 1.1 million start-up companies.
5. The aggregation was made by industry, division and country. Median survival duration in days was calculated as the median difference between incorporation and dissolution dates. Dissolution year was also calculated in a binned range of 1-5+ years, along with their corresponding percentages relative to the total sample size per aggregation.
6. Subsequently, all industries were ranked, based on the median survival duration and the dissolution time frame, in order to determine the industries in which start-up companies existed for the longest period of time.
7. All data was collected between 10-12 November 2021 and is subject to change.

 

03/02/2022