Covering the systems, support structures and policies that produce successful startups.
DB Research produces primary, field-gathered intelligence on entrepreneurial ecosystems across the UK and Europe — written for the policymakers and institutions shaping them.
We study the systems and identify the levers behind outcomes — not just activity metrics.
Most startup-focussed publications focus on activity-based metrics. How many startups joined accelerators. How many applied for grants. How big and impressive the latest batch is.
But we ask the harder question: so what?
Of all the activity that startup ecosystems, their support structures, advisors and investors engage in — how many ventures actually make it to market? How many survive the valley of death, past year five? How many get funded? And what is the economic impact on an ecosystem as a startup becomes successful?
Our main focus? Understanding the actual levers behind a startup becoming a growth company, turning into a scale-up, and reaching that exceptional final exit.
That is what DB Research encompasses.
Reports, in progress and published.
EU Inc.
How Europe’s single-market registration will affect founders, investors and advisors.
The Spanish Startup Ecosystem Landscape
A primary read on the conditions shaping Spain’s startup ecosystem.
EU Inc.
Europe’s single-market registration for startups and new business.
What the proposed 28th regime actually is, and how founders, investors and advisors across the UK and EU are reacting to it — primary evidence carried into the rooms where policy and implementation get decided.
Across seven core markets, spanning the EU, UK and Estonia, we spoke with the full spectrum of the ecosystem — startup founders and teams, VCs, angel consortiums and funds, and legal and tax advisers. We set out to understand how well the initiative is genuinely understood, where each group sees it working or falling short, the concerns and expectations it raises, and the concrete, future-forward actions they would take whether or not it passes.
Contribute a voice
A short, on-the-record interview before the August window closes.
Amplify the launch
Co-promote on publication day with a ready-made partner pack.
Co-host an event
A briefing, panel or roundtable on the findings, across European cities.
The Spanish Startup Ecosystem Landscape
A primary read on the conditions shaping Spain’s startup ecosystem.
Field work opens later this year. If you’d like to contribute as the research begins — as an interviewee, a survey partner or an event host — register your interest now and we’ll be in touch as it gets underway.
Behind every report.
Primary, not derivative
We generate our own evidence — interviewing founders, investors and operators directly, and building our own datasets rather than repackaging others’ work.
Systemic, not anecdotal
We look for structural patterns, not outlier stories. We study ecosystems as systems — capital, knowledge, networks, institutions and policy — and report on the conditions.
Policy-grade, not industry-flavoured
We write to be used, not admired. We are clear about how we got there, honest about what the data can’t tell us, and we put the finding in plain language a busy decision-maker can act on.
Independent, not conflicted
We take no commercial position that compromises a finding, and we disclose all funding, sponsorships and partnerships up front, as well as within the report itself. We pride ourselves on the research rigour and independence of our findings.
Research is powerful when it reaches the right audiences.
Depending on the publication, we take the findings to the people who can act on them — in person and online, through a programme built around each report.
Roadshows
We take headline findings on the road, presenting directly to the institutions and authorities they speak to.
Roundtables
Closed-door sessions where policymakers, investors and operators debate the findings in the same room.
Events
Briefings and launch events that put the work in front of the audiences who shape the system.
Online & social
Summaries, data and commentary published across our channels to widen the reach beyond the room.