Startup Sentiment Rebound Continues for a Third Month

By: Michael Alston for Franchise Insights

May 6, 2026 – Startup sentiment was strong for the third consecutive month in April 2026 as business buyer surveys showed that 62.2% of persons exploring ownership agree or strongly agree that “now is a good time for startup”, up from a recent low of 30% in December 2025.

This increase in sentiment about business conditions is consistent with a modest April increase in consumer confidence from Conference Board survey readings. This optimism is also consistent with the St. Louis Federal Reserve’s elevated measure of high-propensity business applications since December.

Similarly, 64.9.0% of this month’s respondents say they are more likely to start a business now than three months ago.

With respect to future conditions, 56.8% of respondents to the monthly sentiment survey see business conditions “about the same” in three months, with another 24.3% seeing them “better” or “much better” in three months.

This month, we learned that 73% of prospects believe advances in artificial intelligence had an influence on their interest in starting businesses, and 43% say that it makes them more interested in businesses less likely to be impacted. Further, 24% say that it actually increases their desire to control their own destinies through business ownership.

Over 81% of aspiring franchisees see business conditions the same or better three months ahead.

Of this month’s respondents, 43.1% planned their startups within the next three months, and 65.3% expected their launches within the next six months. The percentage of entrepreneurs planning their startups at some time within the next twelve months stood at 79.2%.

In the April 2026 Small Business Startup Sentiment Index™ survey, 64.9% of respondents said they are “more or much more likely to launch their startups than three months ago.”

Additional Survey highlights:

Future business conditions: Despite the uncertainty of tariff effects and policy changes ahead, 81.1% of respondents see conditions no worse – staying the same or getting better – in three months. Accordingly, only 18.9% of respondents are worried that conditions will be “worse or much worse” in three months.
Access to funding: 67.6% of entrepreneurs were concerned about finding adequate funding (the top concern), down from 78.9% in January 2026. On the other hand, those who see funding “harder or much harder” to obtain in the next three months were 27.0% of the total, down significantly from January’s 38.9% of respondents. “Economic climate” was the second most common concern (40.5%), followed by “regulatory changes” at 24.3%. Concerns about “political changes” were 21.6%, up from 8% in March..
Current Employment: Of these survey respondents, 54.1% are currently employed full-time, the highest since June 2024 at 61.7%. Another 10.8% of respondents were current business owners seeking an additional or replacement business. Freelancers and consultants were 29.7%, while part-timers were at 5.48%, and less than 1% were active military.
Age Cohorts: Gen-X remains the largest share, at 51.5% of respondents, though down from the record 63.9% seen in June 2024. Boomers were 21.2% of respondents, trailing the 24.2% who were Gen-Y (Millennials), the largest cohort in the adult population, but years away from the peak age for business ownership. Gen-Z were 3%, and the “Silent Generation” was less than 1% of respondents.

In April, 73% of prospects said that advances in artificial intelligence had some impact on their interest in starting businesses.

The FranchiseInsights.com Small Business Startup Sentiment Index™ (SSI) is based on a monthly survey of individuals who have recently inquired about businesses or franchises for sale on the Franchise Ventures lead generation platform. This survey was conducted April 23-30, 2026.

Franchise Ventures is the leading franchise lead-generation platform for potential franchisees to thousands of growing franchise systems in the United States and Canada. Its franchise lead generation brands include Franchise.com, Franchise Solutions, Franchise Gator, Franchise Opportunities, Franchise For Sale, SmallBusinessStartup.com and BusinessBroker.net, and together they provide the largest aggregation of prospective franchise buyers in the U.S.

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Published on Wednesday, May 6th, 2026.