Most parents would support their children starting a business, while more than a third would rather see them do that than head to university, according to new research published ahead of A-level results day.
Virgin StartUp surveyed 1,000 parents of children aged 13 to 21 and found that 85% would back their child if they wanted to start a business.
Some 35% went further and said they would prefer their child to start a business rather than go to university this autumn.
University hasn’t lost its appeal altogether, of course. But 41% of parents now think a degree is less important to building a successful career than it was 20 years ago.
Cost appears to be a big part of this. Of those who felt university had become less important, 63% cited the cost of higher education and the debt involved. Changes in the job market were mentioned by 56%.
More than half of parents (59%) said entrepreneurship is a more attractive career choice than it was two decades ago.
ByteStart has previously reported that one in four 18 to 24-year-olds wanted to start a business, while another recent study found growing interest in entrepreneurship among Gen Z.
Parents want business skills taught at school
Parents were particularly keen for schools to teach some of the skills involved in running a business.
A sizeable 87% backed the idea, with financial literacy (52%), problem-solving (48%) and communication (43%) the three most popular choices.
Two-thirds of parents said they wished they had been encouraged to be more entrepreneurial themselves when they were at school.
There is already quite a bit of this going on at home.
Three in five parents said they were encouraging their children to be entrepreneurial in some way. Teaching them about saving money was by far the most common example, followed by investing savings and learning about profit, costs and pricing.
A third had encouraged their children to sell old toys or other belongings.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, parents aren’t quite as confident when it comes to the nuts and bolts of actually starting a business. Only 57% said they would feel comfortable advising their child on how to go about it.
AI makes starting a business easier
Almost two-thirds of parents (62%) think social media and AI have made it easier to start a business straight from school.
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Andy Fishburn, Managing Director of Virgin StartUp, believes AI in particular is opening up opportunities for young founders.
“AI is really levelling the playing field, increasing access to advice and skills.”
Fishburn said Virgin StartUp is seeing more young people consider starting a business rather than automatically following the traditional academic route.
“Entrepreneurship is also just a great way to build something on your own terms, which is a powerful draw for the younger generation.”
Virgin StartUp recently put 40 London students through a Dragons’ Den-style event, where they worked with business advisers to develop ideas and consider how they might turn them into viable businesses.
For students who want to test an idea without giving up their studies, read our guide to starting a business while at university.
If you’re at the stage of putting an idea together, we also have practical guides to writing a business plan and raising money to start a business.
The research was carried out by 72Point for Virgin StartUp between 15 and 20 July 2026.
