Observed Signal · Oct 13, 2026 · Research Report · Source: Trending Topics (DACH/CEE Innovation & Tech) · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Neutral
75% of European Founders Start Solo: Cherry Ventures Report
A new report by Berlin-based VC fund Cherry Ventures, titled 'Heartbeat', analyzes 10,000 European startups in their first 18 months, spanning 10,000 founders across 89 cities and over €5 billion in capital raised. Key findings reveal that 75% of startups are solo-founded, with only 10.1% of founders being female. Master's degrees are 4.3 times more common than MBAs, and co-founders are typically met at work. Only 7% attended accelerators, with Y Combinator most common. Amsterdam and Zurich lead per capita, while London leads in absolute numbers. AI-first software has overtaken classic SaaS as the largest category (22.5% vs 20.9%). Munich is Europe's hardware capital. The report highlights a brain drain: 72% of San Francisco founders were educated in Europe, and U.S. degrees correlate with double initial funding.
The report provides valuable insights into the European startup ecosystem, which indirectly affects the AdTech/MarTech industry by highlighting trends in founder demographics, funding, and technology categories, but it is not directly about advertising technology.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- 75% of European startups are solo-founded; only 10.1% of founders are women.
- Master's degrees are 4.3 times more common than MBAs; in deep tech, doctorates outnumber MBAs nearly 10 to 1.
- AI-first software is now the largest startup category at 22.5%, surpassing classic SaaS at 20.9%.
- 72% of founders in San Francisco were educated in Europe, and U.S. degrees correlate with twice the initial funding.
- Amsterdam and Zurich are the leading hubs per capita; Munich is the hardware capital with 7.5% of startups making physical products.
Connected Companies & Entities
10 Entities mapped“The Berlin-based VC fund Cherry Ventures has published the 'Heartbeat' report.”
“Most accelerator participants come from Y Combinator.”
“Antler follows with a significant margin.”
“The largest source of founder pairs is McKinsey.”
“As well as Meta and Google with four each.”
“The data originates from Cherry Ventures' proprietary deal flow and was cross-referenced with Crunchbase, Dealroom, Harmonic, and Evertrace.”
“The data originates from Cherry Ventures' proprietary deal flow and was cross-referenced with Crunchbase, Dealroom, Harmonic, and Evertrace.”
“The data originates from Cherry Ventures' proprietary deal flow and was cross-referenced with Crunchbase, Dealroom, Harmonic, and Evertrace.”
“The data originates from Cherry Ventures' proprietary deal flow and was cross-referenced with Crunchbase, Dealroom, Harmonic, and Evertrace.”
“As well as Meta and Google with four each.”
Related Market Signals & Shifts
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Germany Sees Record Unicorns, but IPOs Head to US
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