GUESSS India 2025: 22% of Students Have Started Businesses

More than one in five Indian college students has already started a business, while 43% aspire to become entrepreneurs, highlighting the growing interest in business creation among India’s student population. However, converting entrepreneurial ambitions into sustainable ventures remains a challenge, according to the GUESSS India 2025 report released by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi.

Titled How Do We Make Student Entrepreneurs?, the report examines entrepreneurial intentions, existing student-run businesses, career preferences and the factors influencing young people’s decisions to start companies. Based on responses from 25,783 students across more than 1,200 higher education institutions in 34 states and Union Territories, the findings place Indian students broadly in line with their global counterparts in entrepreneurial ambition and business creation.

The survey found that 22% of Indian students had already started a business, compared with 23% globally. Meanwhile, 43% of students in both India and the global sample aspired to entrepreneurship. Although these figures indicate considerable interest in business ownership, the report identifies several barriers, including limited exposure to entrepreneurs, low early sales and a gap between business ideas and actual ventures.

The findings also highlight differences between male and female students in turning entrepreneurial ambitions into action. The report recommends that universities move beyond entrepreneurship lectures, business-plan competitions and expressions of interest to focus on practical outcomes, such as launching businesses, securing first customers and developing working prototypes.

GUESSS India 2025: Key Findings at a Glance

The figures suggest that India has a substantial pool of students interested in entrepreneurship, with a meaningful proportion already operating businesses. At the same time, the relatively low share of ventures making their first sale points to a need for stronger support during the early stages of business development.

What Is the GUESSS India 2025 Report?

GUESSS India is the Indian component of the Global University Entrepreneurial Spirit Students’ Survey, an international research initiative launched by the University of St Gallen in Switzerland in 2003. The biennial survey examines students’ entrepreneurial intentions, business activities and the personal, educational and social factors that influence their decisions.

The global survey attracted more than 300,000 students from 57 countries in 2023. Its Indian counterpart provides a national picture of Student Entrepreneurship while allowing researchers to compare the experiences and ambitions of Indian students with those of students elsewhere.

The 2025 India survey was conducted between September and December and gathered responses from 25,783 students studying at more than 1,200 higher education institutions across 34 states and Union Territories. IIT Mandi released the report in partnership with Bengaluru-based REVA University, which served as the national partner for the survey.

By examining both entrepreneurial aspirations and actual business activity, the report seeks to identify where students are making progress and where universities can improve their support. Its central message is that interest in entrepreneurship is important, but the ability to turn an idea into a functioning business is a more meaningful measure of progress.

One in Five Students Has Already Started a Business

One of the report’s most notable findings is that 22% of surveyed Indian students had already started a business. The corresponding global figure was 23%, indicating that student business creation in India is broadly comparable with the international average.

The proportion of students who want to become entrepreneurs is also identical in the Indian and global samples, at 43%. This suggests that entrepreneurial ambition is not confined to a small group of students pursuing business-related courses. Instead, interest in creating businesses represents a significant part of the wider student population covered by the survey.

However, the difference between the proportion of students who aspire to entrepreneurship and those who have started a business highlights an important distinction. Wanting to become an entrepreneur does not necessarily mean a student has the resources, experience, contacts or confidence to establish a venture.

The report therefore encourages institutions to look beyond the number of students attending entrepreneurship programmes or expressing an interest in startups. Universities also need to understand how many students move from an initial idea to a registered business, a working product or service, and eventually paying customers.

Dr Puran Singh, associate professor at IIT Mandi’s School of Management and country delegate for GUESSS India, who led the report, said Indian students were as ambitious as their peers elsewhere and that students who started businesses were building real enterprises that were already hiring people.

His observation underlines an important point: student entrepreneurship is not limited to classroom projects or theoretical business plans. Some ventures are developing into operating businesses, although the report also identifies areas where more students need practical support.

Student Businesses Are Recording Sales, but Early Commercialisation Remains a Challenge

The report found that 35.5% of Indian student businesses had recorded regular sales, compared with 33% globally. This indicates that a proportion of student ventures have progressed beyond the idea stage and are generating recurring commercial activity.

Another notable finding concerns the age of these businesses. Nearly 31% of Indian student businesses with regular sales were founded in 2025, compared with 18% globally. The figure points to a substantial recent contribution to the group of student-run businesses that have achieved regular sales.

However, the picture is less encouraging for ventures still under development. Only 10% of Indian students who were in the process of developing a business had made their first sale, compared with 23% globally.

This gap highlights the difference between preparing to launch a business and proving that customers are willing to pay for its products or services. Students may spend considerable time researching markets, developing business plans, building prototypes or preparing presentations without reaching the stage of making a sale.

A first sale can provide an early indication that a product or service addresses a customer’s needs. It can also give student founders practical feedback on pricing, marketing, product quality and customer expectations. Although a first sale does not guarantee long-term success, it is a concrete milestone in the development of a business.

The report’s findings suggest that universities could help more aspiring entrepreneurs by providing opportunities to test products, meet potential customers and understand the process of bringing a product or service to market.

IT, Artificial Intelligence and Digital Businesses Attract Student Interest

Information technology, artificial intelligence and digital businesses were among the most common areas students considered for future entrepreneurial activity. These sectors offer opportunities for students to explore technology-based products and services, although the report identifies a gap between the sectors students plan to enter and the businesses they currently operate.

Despite the popularity of digital entrepreneurship as an aspiration, only about one in 10 existing student-run businesses was digital, according to the survey findings.

The difference does not necessarily mean that students’ ambitions are misplaced. It may instead reflect the challenges involved in turning technology-focused ideas into commercial products or services. Developing a digital venture can require technical skills, access to equipment and software, customer research, funding and the ability to compete in an established market.

The report does not establish a single explanation for the gap, but the findings point to an opportunity for institutions to strengthen the practical support available to students interested in technology-driven businesses.

Universities could help students evaluate whether their ideas solve a genuine problem, develop and test prototypes, identify potential customers and assess whether their proposed business models are commercially viable. These steps may help bridge the distance between entrepreneurial interest and actual business creation.

Students With Entrepreneurial Contacts Are Three Times More Likely to Start Ventures

Exposure to entrepreneurship emerged as another important factor in the GUESSS India 2025 findings. Students who knew entrepreneurs among their relatives, friends, classmates or teachers were three times more likely to start a venture than those without comparable exposure.

Yet approximately half of the Indian students surveyed said they did not know any entrepreneur beyond their parents. The corresponding proportion in the global sample was about one-third.

The finding suggests that access to entrepreneurial role models and networks may influence students’ willingness to start businesses. Knowing someone who has launched a venture can offer a more direct understanding of the practical realities of entrepreneurship, including finding customers, managing costs, dealing with setbacks and making business decisions.

Entrepreneurs within a student’s social circle may also provide advice, introductions and encouragement. For students who have never seen a business being built at close quarters, meeting a founder can make entrepreneurship feel more achievable and less abstract.

The report consequently recommends that universities expand students’ access to people with direct business experience. Alumni who have founded companies, faculty members who operate ventures and students who already run businesses could contribute to this effort.

These interactions do not guarantee that students will start successful businesses. However, they can help aspiring founders develop realistic expectations, learn from practical experience and build relationships that may be useful during the early stages of a venture.

Repeat Entrepreneurship Is More Common Among Indian Student Founders

While the report identifies challenges in getting new ventures off the ground, it also highlights signs of persistence among Indian student entrepreneurs.

Among founders of student businesses with regular sales, 41% had closed an earlier venture and started another. The comparable global figure was 33%. In addition, 42% of Indian student entrepreneurs ran two or more businesses, compared with 25% worldwide.

These findings suggest that repeat business creation is relatively common among the Indian student entrepreneurs covered by the survey. Some founders continue pursuing entrepreneurship even after an earlier venture has closed, while others operate multiple businesses.

Closing a business can occur for many reasons, and the survey figures alone do not establish why individual ventures ended. Similarly, operating multiple businesses does not automatically indicate that every venture is profitable or sustainable.

Nevertheless, the figures highlight the importance of treating entrepreneurship as a process that can involve experimentation, learning and changes in direction. Students may need opportunities to understand why ventures struggle, assess customer demand and adapt their ideas rather than view an unsuccessful attempt as the end of their entrepreneurial journey.

Universities can support this process by encouraging evidence-based decision-making and helping students evaluate their progress. Mentoring and practical feedback can be valuable whether a founder is launching a first business, restarting after a closure or managing more than one venture.

Entrepreneurial Ambitions Rise as Interest in Government and Large-Company Jobs Falls

The GUESSS India 2025 report also points to a change in students’ immediate career preferences after graduation. The proportion of students who wanted to run their own businesses immediately after completing their studies increased from 14% in 2023 to 16.2% in 2025.

Over the same period, the share of students aspiring to government jobs fell from 12.7% to 10.1%. The proportion seeking employment at large companies declined from 31.3% to 27.4%.

The rise in immediate entrepreneurial intentions suggests that business ownership is becoming a more prominent career option for the students surveyed. At the same time, the declines in preferences for government and large-company employment indicate changes in the distribution of students’ stated career plans.

These figures should not be interpreted as proof that students are abandoning conventional employment or that all those interested in entrepreneurship will eventually launch businesses. Career intentions can change as students graduate, gain experience and assess their financial circumstances.

Still, the trend gives universities a reason to ensure that students who want to build businesses can access practical guidance alongside conventional career services. Supporting entrepreneurship does not require institutions to discourage salaried employment; rather, it means equipping students with the knowledge and opportunities to explore different career paths.

Women Show Entrepreneurial Interest but Face a Follow-Through Gap

The report found that women expressed entrepreneurial ambitions almost as frequently as men. However, women who wanted to become entrepreneurs were less likely to have started a venture.

Among students who aspired to start a business, 45% of women had begun one, compared with 53% of men. The eight-percentage-point difference indicates a gap between entrepreneurial intention and action among the students covered by the survey.

The findings do not, on their own, identify the reasons for this difference. They also do not establish that every woman or man faces the same barriers. Further investigation would be needed to determine the role of factors such as access to funding, professional networks, mentorship, time, resources or other individual circumstances.

Nevertheless, the results highlight the importance of ensuring that entrepreneurship programmes are accessible and practical for students with different needs and backgrounds.

Universities can examine whether students have equal opportunities to meet founders, test business ideas, access mentors and connect with potential customers. They can also monitor participation and business-launch outcomes to identify whether certain groups encounter obstacles at particular stages of the process.

For institutions, the objective should be to make entrepreneurial support useful to students who are ready to act on their ambitions, rather than simply measuring how many students express an interest in starting a business.

What the Report Recommends for Universities

The report calls on universities to rethink how they measure and support student entrepreneurship. Rather than focusing primarily on interest, participation in competitions or the quality of business plans, institutions should pay closer attention to the number of students who actually launch ventures and reach practical business milestones.

1. Track the transition from ambition to business creation

The report recommends that universities measure how many students turn their entrepreneurial intentions into operating businesses. According to its findings, 51 out of every 100 students who wanted to start a business had done so.

Tracking this transition would help institutions understand where students are progressing and where they need additional assistance. Measures could include the number of businesses launched, prototypes developed, registrations completed and customers acquired.

Such indicators would provide a more practical picture of entrepreneurship outcomes than interest surveys alone. They would also help universities evaluate whether their programmes are helping students move from planning to implementation.

2. Bring entrepreneurs into students’ everyday learning environments

The report recommends connecting students with alumni entrepreneurs, faculty founders and student business owners. These interactions could take place in classrooms, hostels and other campus settings.

Direct contact with founders may help students understand the practical challenges of starting and running a business. Entrepreneurs can share experiences about testing ideas, acquiring customers, managing uncertainty and adapting when an initial plan does not work.

Such exposure could be particularly useful for students who do not personally know entrepreneurs beyond their immediate family. By expanding access to role models and professional networks, universities may help make business creation more accessible to a wider group of students.

3. Prioritise first sales, registrations and prototypes

The report calls for greater emphasis on measurable business milestones rather than relying primarily on business-plan competitions. A polished plan may demonstrate that a student has considered an idea, but it does not necessarily show whether the proposed product or service can attract customers.

Prototypes allow founders to test whether a product works as intended. Registrations can mark an important administrative step where required, while first sales provide an early indication of customer demand.

These milestones offer practical ways for universities to assess progress and identify where students need help. They can also encourage aspiring founders to test assumptions earlier instead of spending excessive time refining plans without interacting with potential customers.

Universities Should Educate Students for Enterprise, Says REVA University Chancellor

Dr P Shyama Raju, chancellor of REVA University, which served as the national partner for the survey, said universities should expand their role beyond preparing students for conventional employment.

He emphasised the importance of educating students for enterprise so they can create jobs. The view reflects the report’s broader argument that universities can contribute to economic activity not only by preparing graduates to join existing organisations but also by helping them build new ones.

For students, this approach could mean gaining experience in identifying customer needs, testing products, understanding basic business operations and developing the confidence to launch ventures. The emphasis would be on practical learning alongside academic knowledge.

Prof Anjan Swain, chair of IIT Mandi’s School of Management, similarly said student entrepreneurship was central to the school’s approach to management education. He said the aim was to encourage students to build ventures and organisations, not merely manage them.

The two perspectives align with the report’s recommendations for closer links between higher education and real-world business creation. They also highlight the role institutions can play in providing an environment where students can explore entrepreneurship while continuing their studies.

What the Findings Mean for India’s Startup Ecosystem

The GUESSS India 2025 findings offer a snapshot of student entrepreneurship at a time when business creation is an important career consideration for many young people. The fact that 43% of surveyed students aspire to entrepreneurship indicates a substantial potential pool of future founders.

However, the report suggests that ambition alone is not enough. Limited contact with entrepreneurs, the low proportion of developing ventures that have made a first sale and the gap between digital business plans and existing digital ventures all point to areas where practical support could make a difference.

For universities, this means considering how students can gain access to mentors, develop prototypes, meet customers and learn from people who have already established businesses. It also means evaluating entrepreneurship programmes according to what students accomplish, rather than relying exclusively on participation numbers or stated intentions.

For students, the findings underline the importance of moving from ideas to evidence. Speaking with potential customers, testing a product and learning from early feedback can help determine whether a business concept addresses a real need.

The survey does not suggest that every student should become an entrepreneur. Instead, it indicates that those who want to build businesses may benefit from stronger practical support and greater exposure to entrepreneurial experience.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What percentage of Indian college students have started a business?

According to the GUESSS India 2025 report, 22% of surveyed Indian college students had already started a business. The comparable global figure was 23%.

2. How many Indian students aspire to become entrepreneurs?

The report found that 43% of Indian students aspired to entrepreneurship, matching the 43% figure recorded in the global sample.

3. How many students participated in the GUESSS India 2025 survey?

The survey collected responses from 25,783 students across more than 1,200 higher education institutions in 34 states and Union Territories.

4. Which organisation released the GUESSS India 2025 report?

IIT Mandi released the report in partnership with REVA University in Bengaluru. The report is titled How Do We Make Student Entrepreneurs?

5. What percentage of Indian student businesses record regular sales?

The report found that 35.5% of Indian student businesses had recorded regular sales, compared with 33% globally.

6. What is the biggest challenge identified by the report?

The report highlights the difficulty of turning entrepreneurial ambition into actual business activity. It points to limited exposure to entrepreneurs, low early sales and the gap between business plans and operating ventures.

7. Are women as interested in entrepreneurship as men?

The report found that women expressed entrepreneurial ambitions almost as frequently as men. However, among students who wanted to start businesses, 45% of women had begun a venture, compared with 53% of men.

8. What does the report recommend universities do to encourage entrepreneurship?

It recommends tracking actual business creation, connecting students with alumni and other entrepreneurs, and prioritising practical milestones such as first sales, registrations and prototypes over business-plan competitions alone.

9. What percentage of Indian student entrepreneurs run multiple businesses?

According to the survey, 42% of Indian student entrepreneurs ran two or more businesses, compared with 25% globally.

10. Why is exposure to entrepreneurs important for students?

The report found that students who knew entrepreneurs among their relatives, friends, classmates or teachers were three times more likely to start a venture. Such exposure can help students learn about business creation and connect with people who have practical experience.

Conclusion

The GUESSS India 2025 report shows that Indian college students have strong entrepreneurial ambitions, with 43% aspiring to start businesses and 22% already having done so. The share of students who have launched ventures is close to the global average, while the proportion of businesses recording regular sales is slightly higher than the worldwide figure.

At the same time, limited entrepreneurial networks, low first-sale rates among ventures still in development and differences between women’s and men’s follow-through highlight the need for more effective support. The report calls on universities to help students move beyond ideas and plans towards practical business outcomes.

Its central message is clear: encouraging entrepreneurship requires more than teaching students how to write business plans. By connecting aspiring founders with experienced entrepreneurs and helping them test products, find customers and launch ventures, universities can play a more active role in turning student ambition into real business creation.