Google launches Future Founders in the UK to inspire teens

According to a new survey commissioned by Google, British teenagers have little interest in starting their own companies and believe they will likely work for well-established companies when they enter the workforce.

The survey was based around statistics gathered by YouGov and highlights a lack of entrepreneurial spirit amongst teenagers in Britain. The Internet-based market research firm used responses from 1,021 teenagers to gather its data. YouGov found that only 22 per cent of people aged 15-18 believed that they would likely start their own business. The remaining 78 per cent believed that they would work at a well-established company instead.

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56 per cent of the young people surveyed thought that starting their own business was a risky move while 21 per cent thought it was unstable and 11 per cent thought that doing so would be reckless. When it came to entrepreneurship, 45 per cent of girls and 39 per cent of boys were afraid of the risk of failure.

In response to the results of the survey, Google announced that it would be launching an imitative called Google Future Founders to encourage young people to embrace entrepreneurship and give them the necessary training to do so successfully. The programme will operate out of the company’s startup hub in the UK, Campus London.

Google Future Founders will offer groups of students aged 16-18 the opportunity to attend half-day workshops at Campus London. Startup experts and entrepreneurs will lead the workshops and the company will provide the students with access to ongoing mentorship.

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This new initiative will help young people come face to face with and dispel many of the myths and falsehoods surrounding entrepreneurship. Google’s Future Founders programme will build on the experience of many of the company’s previous programmes including Founders Over 50.

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