Founder Monitor
What is the Founder Monitor?
The Founder Monitor is an annual, data-driven research initiative by Unknown University of Applied Sciences that tracks how entrepreneurship develops over time and investigates which factors are associated with who becomes a founder.
By analysing large-scale alumni and career data, the Founder Monitor aims to move beyond anecdotes and assumptions and provide long-term insights into entrepreneurial activity. We examine where founders emerge, how entrepreneurial activity differs across groups and educational backgrounds, and which conditions are associated with people taking the step into entrepreneurship.
Unknown University of Applied Sciences acts as the initiator, coordinator and long-term steward of the Founder Monitor.
Research Domains
The Founder Monitor is structured around a set of research domains that together explain how founders emerge. Each domain is explored in depth and expanded over time.
Education & Alumni (active)
This domain examines how educational background is associated with entrepreneurship. We analyse differences between fields of study, programmes and educational environments using large-scale, long-term alumni data.
Geographical Influence (upcoming)
This research line explores how location matters. We study regional differences, startup ecosystems and the visibility of entrepreneurship across cities and regions.
Macro-Economic Trends (upcoming)
Here we explore how broader economic conditions such as labour markets, growth cycles and uncertainty are associated with changes in entrepreneurial activity over time.
Policy & Regulation (upcoming)
This domain focuses on the impact of public policy, incentives and regulation on entrepreneurial activity and founder behaviour.
Publications
The first 2026 publications of the Founder Monitor focus on entrepreneurship among alumni of Dutch universities and universities of applied sciences. Based on the career paths of more than one million alumni, the research identifies long-term developments in the emergence of new founders.
The first publication identifies a clear turning point: after a decline to 3.01% in 2016–2020, the share of new founders increased to 6.35% in 2021–2025 — the highest level across the periods analysed.
Upcoming publications will further explore differences by gender and the relationship between field of study and entrepreneurship.
What is next
The Founder Monitor is designed as a living research platform. Following the first publication on long-term founder trends, upcoming analyses will examine differences between male and female alumni and explore the relationship between field of study and entrepreneurship.
Over time, the Founder Monitor will expand into additional research domains, including geographical influence, macro-economic conditions and policy and regulation.
The ambition is to develop the Founder Monitor into an annual reference point for understanding where founders emerge and which conditions are associated with entrepreneurship.
About Unknown University of Applied Sciences
Unknown University of Applied Sciences is a university of applied sciences in The Hague with an NVAO-accredited bachelor’s programme focused on entrepreneurship and innovation. Students build their own ventures during their studies and apply knowledge directly in practice. Based at Titaan, they study within an ecosystem of startups, scale-ups and experienced entrepreneurs. Through education and research, Unknown University aims to contribute to a deeper understanding and development of the next generation of founders.