A new generation of SMBs was born during COVID and they expect more

It’s official – the next generation of SMBs (small and medium-sized businesses) is here, and they are on the rise. Riding on the back of the 2020 work-from-home revolution, digital acceleration, and the great resignation, we saw a new type of founder (and a new type of SMB) rise from the ashes.

We needed to know more – so Accenture surveyed approximately 5,800 professionals and found that nearly 1 out of every 10 individuals surveyed started a business in the last 3 years to realize their long-standing latent ambitions¹. The new SMBs they created are quite different from their predecessors; they are digitally-savvy, have new goals & priorities, and are predominantly self-funded. Based on our analysis, we believe the number of these “next generation” SMBs will continue to grow – as individuals are more focused on pursuing their own dreams/path and have the tools and capabilities at their fingertips to do so.

Since we know these SMBs are fundamentally different than their predecessors, enterprises must learn as much as possible as quickly as possible to ensure they are holistically supporting this new, fast-growing segment. To better understand these new SMBs, we dove into further analyzing the group of ~580 new founders and their businesses. Here is what we uncovered…

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