Female founders place peer support as top priority amidst funding strain

A new study of more than 2,200 UK female founders found that peer relationships and mentorship are the most valued forms of support, while access to finance and mental health pressures remain major challenges.

The Rise Report draws on responses from 2,225 UK-based female entrepreneurs who collectively generate £1 billion in annual turnover. Researchers also analysed 436,000 words of qualitative feedback.

The research was commissioned by Female Founders Rise, with academic input from Nottingham Business School and analysis support from WholeSum. Barclays supported the work and hosted the launch event at its Eagle Labs Innovation Hub in London.

Connection and wellbeing

Across the sample, 78% said human connection was central to their entrepreneurial journey. Peer networks were the most frequently cited source of support (39%), followed by mentorship and coaching (32%).

The report also highlights wellbeing concerns. Around one in seven respondents (14%) said loneliness and isolation were their biggest challenge, while more than a quarter (27%) reported mental health pressures including burnout and self-doubt.

Loneliness was reported at similar rates among founders of both small and larger businesses, suggesting a systemic issue rather than one limited to early-stage start-ups.

Emmie Faust, founder of Female Founders Rise and a co-author of the report, said entrepreneurs can face isolation without access to mentors and peers.

Faust said, "Being an entrepreneur is a unique experience and without the right mentors or a peer network it can be deeply isolating. At Female Founders Rise, we witness the power of bringing women together at a similar stage of growth, facing similar challenges, and the transformation that follows."

Funding barriers

Access to capital and financial insecurity also emerged as major concerns. Some 45% said funding challenges were their primary obstacle.

Qualitative responses skewed negative towards both public and private finance. Among those who commented on public funding such as grants, 78% reported strong frustration and described processes as bureaucratic and time-consuming. Nearly a third (30%) said applications were overly complex.

Views of private finance were similarly pessimistic, with 73% expressing negative sentiment towards sources such as business loans, venture capital and angel investment. Around one in 10 also cited issues with investor behaviour, including dismissive attitudes, ghosting and power imbalances.

The report sets these experiences alongside wider data on the gender funding gap in entrepreneurship, noting that less than 2% of venture capital goes to fully female-founded teams-a statistic cited in multiple industry and policy discussions in recent years.

Joanna Jensen, an entrepreneur, chair of the EIS Association and a co-author of the report, said knowledge-sharing can accelerate learning and growth.

Jensen said, "I often say I can share in six minutes what took me six years to learn and that kind of knowledge - sharing can change the trajectory of a business. Shared experience shortens learning curves and unlocks growth. If we want more successful founders, the entire start-up ecosystem has a responsibility to open more doors to expertise much faster."

Economic stakes

The report links founders' experiences to the potential macroeconomic impact of closing the gender gap in entrepreneurship. It cites estimates suggesting the UK could unlock up to £310 billion in economic growth if women started and scaled businesses at the same rate as men.

Barclays framed the findings as a call to strengthen networks and access. Sam White, head of SME Business Banking at Barclays, said the volume of responses underscored the importance of relationships in building a business.

He commented, "More than 2,000 women have shared their honest experiences of starting and growing a business in the UK and we must listen to what they've told us. One message comes through loud and clear: when women are backed with the right networks, support and opportunities, their businesses don't just survive - they thrive."

Barclays has also tied its own work to the broader debate on access to funding for female founders, committing up to £50m to a funding pool linked to the Invest in Women Taskforce, which focuses on investment conditions for female entrepreneurs in the UK.

Female Founders Rise said its community has more than 11,000 members. It described the research as a large grassroots snapshot of women's experiences of starting and growing businesses across the UK, highlighting the role of community support alongside persistent structural barriers in finance.

White said, "Confidence fuels action, and action builds firms that contribute to local communities and the wider UK economy. The potential is huge, and we will get closer to realising it if we ensure women feel supported, connected and empowered to grow their businesses."