In 2024, 37 percent of startup founders in Germany had studied either business administration, economics or a similar degree at university. Based on the ranking at hand, the least popular subject to study as a new company founder was graphic design or other artistic subjects. This graph shows what degree subjects were studied by those who founded a startup in Germany.
The DSM defines the term “startup” as follows:
Startups are less than 10 years old
Startups have planned employee and/or sales growth and/or
are (highly) innovative with their products/services, their business model and/or their technologies
According to the DSM, a company is a startup if the first condition mentioned above is met and at least one of the other two conditions is also met.
Startup founders in Germany in 2024, by subjects studied
1,828 data sets from founders, managers, and C-Level employees
Supplementary notes
The data comes from the German Startup Monitor (DSM), for which high-quality data sets are collected annually from founders and managing directors of startups. The founders or managing directors (members of the executive board e.g. chief level) of startups received a special questionnaire link by email which was sent through selected DSM network partners. The DSM 2024 is based on 1,828 data sets from founders and managing directors after the completion of the data set cleaning. The data was collected from June 6 to August 12, 2024.
The source does not provide any information regarding missing percentage points to 100 percent.
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Bundesverband Deutsche Startups. (September 29, 2024). Startup founders in Germany in 2024, by subjects studied [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved December 30, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1332815/start-up-founder-degree-subjects-germany/
Bundesverband Deutsche Startups. "Startup founders in Germany in 2024, by subjects studied." Chart. September 29, 2024. Statista. Accessed December 30, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1332815/start-up-founder-degree-subjects-germany/
Bundesverband Deutsche Startups. (2024). Startup founders in Germany in 2024, by subjects studied. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: December 30, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1332815/start-up-founder-degree-subjects-germany/
Bundesverband Deutsche Startups. "Startup Founders in Germany in 2024, by Subjects Studied." Statista, Statista Inc., 29 Sep 2024, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1332815/start-up-founder-degree-subjects-germany/
Bundesverband Deutsche Startups, Startup founders in Germany in 2024, by subjects studied Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1332815/start-up-founder-degree-subjects-germany/ (last visited December 30, 2024)
Startup founders in Germany in 2024, by subjects studied [Graph], Bundesverband Deutsche Startups, September 29, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1332815/start-up-founder-degree-subjects-germany/
