A new survey of US startup founders by Angel Investment Network (AIN), the world’s largest online angel investment platform, challenges the pervasive stereotype of the twenty-something entrepreneur working from their parents’ garage.

The AIN Founder Survey 2025 reveals that the median founder is now middle aged, often relying on external employment to keep their ventures afloat. 

According to the survey of 610 startup founders, 65% are over the age of 45, with more than 1 in 3 (38%) over the age of 55. Meanwhile 70% are male, versus 29% female indicating a gender gap in those seeking funding.

1 in 2 (50%) are working part or full time to support their startup. 91% have funded their business with their own savings, with other top sources being family and friends 24% and a bank loan (10%).

In terms of fundraising, the process of seeking external capital absorbs a lot of founders’ time, with 46% of respondents spending 30% or more of their week actively engaged in fundraising. 

Meanwhile more than 1 in 4 (26%) are spending more than half their week solely focused on fundraising, effectively turning it into a second job. 45% saying it is taking up so much time it is impacting their ability to run their startup.

Despite the time taken on fundraising, the data shows most founders don’t spend much of that time doing due diligence on investors. 43% are doing nothing or just a cursory search. A further 26% are just doing LinkedIn and website research. Less than a third (30%) are conducting serious due diligence involving founder reference checks, industry fit or founder reference checks.

Looking ahead, US startups remain upbeat about their prospects, 42% are very optimistic and a further 22% quite optimistic. However cashflow is the biggest potential risk, cited by 84% of startups. Second is inflation, named as a concern by 37% of startups, followed by high interest rates, 34%.

Meanwhile 34% of startups polled said they were taking action in response to the  US H-1B visa policy imposing a $100k fee for new international applicants. Top measures being taken included shifting to remote foreign hiring, only focusing on hiring domestically and exploring alternative working visa pathways.

When asked about the most significant non-financial sacrifice in running a startup, sleep (23%) topped the list, followed by mental health (19%) and family (17%).

On the back of the findings, AIN is launching a new content series dedicated to improving the efficiency of fundraising, giving founders back time to focus on their business.

According to Mike Lebus, founder of Angel Investment Network: “The idea that all successful startups are launched by 22-year-olds with immediate angel investment is a fantasy, perpetuated by TV programmes and social media often ignoring the hard-earned experience and financial stability required to take a calculated risk. Our data shows entrepreneurship is often a second-act career, requiring founders to pay their own bills while they build, using personal savings or salary as their primary initial funding source.”

He continued: “Angel investment can be a crucial source of funding as startups scale, but fundraising is eating into a huge amount of US Startups’ time. By investing time in the groundwork and following best practice, founders can more efficiently boost their chances of raising the capital investment to grow their business.”