Phoenix founders 2024 — Beauhurst x Charles Stanley

Phoenix founders 2024 — Rising from the ashes cover

In partnership with Charles Stanley, we investigate entrepreneurs whose previous business failures have led them to find success in a new venture.

There are 669 phoenix founders operating businesses in the UK. These are those founders who have found business success following the failure of a previous venture.

This report finds that almost two-thirds of business owners claim their current business is their most successful, despite their previous experience of failure. Experience in business can be a key factor in success, these experiences lead to lessons learned which can help inform future decision-making. Almost half of business owners state that the failure of a previous business has helped in the success of their current one.

It appears that most founders feel their experience and knowledge are transferable, with 66.2% of founders choosing to operate in a different sector from that of their previous business. Most phoenix founders operate in the broader software industry, specifically in the Internet platform and Software-as-a-service space.

Download the report

Inside the report

Phoenix founders 2024 — phoenix founder demography

Phoenix founders 2024 — phoenix founders company sectors

About the authors

Henry Whorwood
Managing Director
Henry leads our Beauhurst Insights team, and is an expert on equity finance and high-growth business. He's worked on briefs for the likes of Barclays, SyndicateRoom, Innovate UK, Smith & Williamson and British Business Bank. He regularly gives presentations on market trends at events around the UK.
Daniel Robinson
Senior Research Manager
Daniel conducts data manipulation and analysis as part of the Research & Consultancy team. He has a background in business analysis and commercial copywriting in Australia and the UK, having worked at The Sunday Times Fast Track, Oxford University Press, and advertising network MullenLowe Group.
Freya Hyde
Senior Designer
Freya performs data visualisation and graphic design in the Research & Consultancy team. She has worked on projects for clients including Barclays, EY and JP Morgan. Freya holds a BA in History (International) from the University of Leeds, which included a year at Fudan University in Shanghai.
Advone Katsande
Graduate Associate
Advone writes copy, and performs data analysis and visualisation. She has written on the nature of Venture Capital Trusts, and worked on projects for Rawnet and Deloitte. She read Law at the University of East Anglia, where she acquired her undergraduate LLB.
Blanca Valencia
Graduate Associate
Blanca handles data analysis and visualisation, as well as copywriting. Prior to joining Beauhurst, Blanca graduated from Queen Mary University of London, where she was awarded a BSc in Computer Science with Management (ITMB).
Bila Turay
Research Manager
Bila handles data analysis and visualisation, as well as project management. Before joining Beauhurst, Bila worked at an R&D Tax consultancy. She graduated from the University of Warwick with a Master of Chemistry (MChem).
Harry Walker
Graduate Associate
Harry conducts data analysis and visualisation. Prior to joining Beauhurst, Harry graduated from Loughborough University, where he was awarded a BSc in Economics, having also completed a Placement Year working in Risk Analysis at the Bank of England.
Evangeline Luckhurst
Designer
Evangeline produces graphic design and data visualisation in the Beauhurst Insights team. Prior to joining Beauhurst, Evangeline graduated from University for the Creative Arts, where she was awarded a BA (Hons) in Illustration and Animation.
Justin Tsui
Associate
Justin handles data analysis and visualisation, as well as copywriting. Before joining, Justin graduated from Imperial College London, where he was awarded a MSc in Applied Biosciences and Biotechnology. He has also previously worked in consulting and academia.