The Irish Founders Sentiment Survey

Irish founders rarely stick to one lane, and that mix of roles tells a powerful story about how companies are really built. We want to do a quick pulse check in the lead up to St Patrick's Day on how Irish founders are really feeling in 2026. ☘️

Email*

1.What is your name?*

2.What is your email?*

3.What is your company name?*

4.Where are you based?*

Ireland

Australia/New Zealand

Europe (excl. Ireland/UK)

North America (excl. US)

Asia

South America

Africa

5.Where is your company HQ?*

Ireland

Australia/New Zealand

Europe (excl. Ireland/UK)

North America (excl. US)

Asia

South America

Africa

6.What best describes your role?*

Founder-CEO

Technical founder (CTO / product-led)

Commercial founder (CEO / sales / growth-led)

Operations / finance-led founder

Non-founder executive

7.How old is your company?*

0-1 years

1-3 years

3-5 years

5+ years

8.What stage best describes your business?*

Pre-product / idea stage

Pre-revenue

Early revenue

Scaling (growing revenue and team)

Mature / profitable

9.What category best describes the industry your company is in?*

Enterprise Software

Fintech / Financial Services

AI / Data / Machine Learning

Cybersecurity

Healthtech / Medtech

Climate / Energy / Sustainability

Developer Tools / Infrastructure

Consumer Goods

Consumer Tech / Marketplaces / Ecommerce

Edtech

Media / Entertainment

Real Estate

Non-Profit

Electronics

AgriTech

Machinery / Engineering

Events / Hospitality

Sports Tech

HR Tech

Other

10.How many full time employees do you have?*

Solo Founder

Multiple Founders + Zero employees

2-10

11-50

51-200

200+

11.What are your top 3 priorities for the next 12 months? *

Revenue growth

Fundraising

Product development

Hiring / talent

Market expansion

Profitability

AI / automation

Operational efficiency

Regulatory / compliance

Preparing for exit

12.Compared to 6 months ago, do you feel more or less optimistic about your business?*

Much more optimistic

Slightly more optimistic

About the same

Slightly less optimistic

Much less optimistic

13.What best describes your current funding situation?*

Bootstrapped

Angel-funded

VC-backed

Revenue-funded

Fundraising currently

Not seeking funding

14.What are the 3 biggest challenges you are facing right now?*

Access to funding

Hiring quality talent

Customer acquisition

Cash flow

Market uncertainty

Regulation / compliance

Founder burnout / stress

Scaling operations

Selling internationally

Building the right network

15.How challenging is fundraising right now (if applicable)?

Very difficult

Somewhat difficult

Neutral

Somewhat easy

Very easy

16.Over the next 12 months, what do you expect for your company?*

Grow significantly

Grow moderately

Stay about the same

Downsize

Unsure

17.What is the single biggest thing slowing your growth today?*

Characters remaining: 400

18.If you are an Irish founder abroad, have you engaged with Irish diaspora networks or organisations where you are based?

Yes, regularly

Yes, occasionally

No, but aware of them

No, unaware they existed

19.One more for our Irish founders abroad, have you considered setting up or expanding operations in Ireland?

Already have

Actively considering

Might consider in future

Unlikely

Definitely not

20.For our Ireland based founders, what do you see as the 2 biggest challenges of building and scaling a company from Ireland?

Limited access to growth-stage capital

Tax or cost pressures

Difficulty hiring or retaining talent

State supports are hard to access or slow

Small domestic market

Distance from key global customers or investors

Strong competition from overseas ecosystems

Other

21.Has being Irish helped your business in any meaningful way?*

Yes, significantly

Yes, somewhat

Neutral

Not really

Not at all

22.If so, could you please elaborate on how it has helped.

Characters remaining: 400

23.Have you signed up to the irish insights Founders Directory?*

Yes

24.If no, would you like to be added?

Yes