{"id":16270,"date":"2025-04-08T23:01:28","date_gmt":"2025-04-08T23:01:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/TheNextWeb=1412945"},"modified":"2025-04-08T23:01:28","modified_gmt":"2025-04-08T23:01:28","slug":"european-startup-founders-are-working-longer-hours-than-you-might-think","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/?p=16270","title":{"rendered":"European startup founders are working longer hours than you might think"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Despite recent claims that European startups aren\u2019t working hard enough, new research shows the continent\u2019s founders are putting in serious shifts to turn their ideas into successful businesses.<\/span><\/p>\n

A survey of 128 founders by early-stage VC firm Antler found that three-quarters of them work more than 60 hours weekly, with 19% exceeding 80 hours. <\/span><\/p>\n

German founders emerged as Europe\u2019s hardest workers, with 94% working more than 60 hours weekly and 38% exceeding 80 hours. <\/span><\/p>\n

Daria Stepanova, co-founder of German startup AIRMO, said she\u2019s sacrificed \u201ctime, stability, and relationships\u201d to grow her company. However, she sees a certain level of obsession is a good thing. Otherwise, \u201cwhat you\u2019re building probably isn\u2019t worth building.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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The ???? of EU tech<\/p>\n

The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol’ founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It’s free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Swedish entrepreneurs followed closely behind. While UK founders were still working long hours, they were least likely to cross the 80-hour threshold, with only 10% doing so.<\/span><\/p>\n

Over 70% describe building their company as \u201ceasily the hardest thing they have ever done.\u201d Yet nearly all (98%) remain passionate about their career choice. <\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s despite feeling underappreciated for their hard work. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of European<\/a> founders feel their dedication goes unacknowledged. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn Europe, you are more likely to be an Olympic medalist than the founder of a unicorn company,\u201d said Alan Poensgen, a partner at Antler. \u201cWhilst both require similar levels of ambition, resilience, and endurance, founders don\u2019t get the same level of recognition.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s motivating founders?<\/h2>\n

The survey paints a picture of founders driven more by impact than income. Only 4% cited financial reward as their primary motivation, with the majority instead pointing to creating innovation (27%), positive global impact (22%), and proving they can tackle difficult challenges (19%).<\/span><\/p>\n

This commitment comes at a cost. Founders identified their biggest sacrifices as work-life balance (61%) and salary reduction (36%). Family concerns add another layer of pressure, with 62% reporting that relatives expressed confusion about their decision to leave stable careers. <\/span><\/p>\n

What keeps these ambitious entrepreneurs awake at night? Execution speed (40%), customer acquisition (24%), and runway concerns (18%) top the list of worries \u2014 reflecting the intense pressure to deliver results with limited resources and time.<\/span><\/p>\n

The findings come amid a growing debate in European tech<\/a> over whether workplace culture is holding the region back compared to the US or China. <\/span><\/p>\n

In a podcast <\/span>interview<\/span><\/a> last month, Revolut<\/a> boss Nik Storonsky criticised European startup entrepreneurs, saying they weren\u2019t working hard enough and valued work-life balance too highly. Those comments followed a lively social media debate earlier this year about whether French founders lacked the \u201cgrindset\u201d to succeed.  <\/span><\/p>\n

However, Antler\u2019s findings challenge the notion that European founders prioritise balance over hustle \u2014 suggesting that behind the continent\u2019s startup<\/a> scene is a culture of quiet, often overlooked, hard work. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople often see the headlines but not the sleepless nights or personal risks behind them,\u201d said Danyal Oezdeuzenciler, co-founder of London-based Capsa AI. \u201cFounders pour so much into an idea \u2014 financially, emotionally, mentally \u2014 and the resilience it takes is pretty extraordinary.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Startup founders from all over Europe are heading to Amsterdam for<\/em> TNW Conference<\/a>, which takes place on June 19-20. Tickets for the event are <\/span>now on sale<\/span><\/a>. Use the code TNWXMEDIA2025 at the check-out to get 30% off the price tag.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Despite recent claims that European startups aren\u2019t working hard enough, new research shows the continent\u2019s founders are putting in serious shifts to turn their ideas into successful businesses. A survey of 128…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16271,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16270"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16270"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16270\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}