Five years on from the first Covid-19 lockdown (23 March 2020), new research from GoDaddy uncovers its impact on the UK’s entrepreneurial landscape.
The COVID-19 pandemic and national lockdowns marked a turning point for the UK, fundamentally changing how we live and work. Working from home brought increased flexibility, leading to a surge in entrepreneurship. Today, over half (55%) of the UK’s small businesses were founded after 2020.
These findings come from GoDaddy’s Venture Forward data, a multi-year research initiative which analyses over 680,000 British small businesses with fewer than 10 employees.
The changing face of entrepreneurship
Venture Forward data found the pandemic has fostered a more diverse entrepreneurial landscape. At the time of the first lockdown, 52% of businesses were founded by men compared to 46% by women. The balance has since shifted, with female-founded ventures now accounting for 49% of the total against 48% male.
Brits are also starting businesses at an earlier age, with youth entrepreneurship – among those aged under 34 - rising from 28% to 35%.
The rise of regional enterprise hubs
In line with the exodus from the capital shortly after the pandemic, regional entrepreneurial hubs have emerged as challengers. Venture Forward measures the concentration of microbusinesses against local population sizes to give each a microbusiness density score.
In 2021, only one of the top 25 areas for microbusiness density was outside London. Today, that has risen to seven with St Albans, Stoke on Trent, Bristol, Hove, Manchester, Brighton, and Glasgow all appearing in the top 25.
Brits show entrepreneurial endurance
Ecommerce boomed during the pandemic and GoDaddy data uncovers British businesses are increasingly dependent on their websites. Today, the majority (52%) of entrepreneurs earn their main source of income from digital channels, compared to 45% during the pandemic.
Business challenges have evolved too, with entrepreneurs increasingly citing marketing online (20% vs 15% five years ago), finding skilled employees (14% vs 10%), and securing affordable spaces (26% vs 20%) as major obstacles.
Businesses have never been quicker or easier to set up and grow
The endurance and evolution of microbusinesses in the UK has happened in lockstep with it becoming easier than ever before for people to set up their own companies. Nearly a third (32%) of small business owners with a digital presence reported needing less than £1,000 to get themselves set up.
Technological advances have also shifted the dial, with 28% using artificial intelligence tools to support business operations. With AI streamlining operations and saving time, entrepreneurs can focus on their growth strategy. Business owners are now becoming more bullish on their prospects, with 61% anticipating business growth compared to 50% during the Pandemic.
Andrew Gradon, Head of GoDaddy UK, said: “The pandemic produced countless challenges, but also showed the depth and breadth of our resilience as a nation. Nowhere is this more apparent than in our nation’s small business community. Whilst undoubtedly a tough time for most people in the UK, we can see that lockdown also unlocked the country’s entrepreneurial spirit.
"Compared to March 2020, we now have a younger and more diverse entrepreneur economy, better representation across the UK, and new tools and technologies to help microbusinesses thrive.”
Copyright 2025.Article made possible by Joshua Powell of MPH Group for GoDaddy