Startup Sentiment Jumps to 2026 High

By: Michael Alston for Franchise Insights

August 5, 2026 – After three months of declining startup sentiment since March 2026, July saw a rise in optimism as 65% of persons exploring franchise ownership agree or strongly agree that “now is a good time for startup”, up from 47.5% in June.

This jump in optimism about business startup conditions comes as consumer confidence readings dipped in July Conference Board surveys, while University of Michigan surveys edged up for the second month in a row.

Further, 65% of this month’s respondents say they are more likely to start a business now than three months ago, perhaps for reasons related to their own personal situations and calendars as much as business conditions.

With respect to future conditions, 65% of respondents to the monthly sentiment survey see business conditions “about the same” in three months, with another 25% seeing them “better” or “much better” in three months.

The impact of AI is likely to be a topic of conversation with prospects. Of this month’s respondents, 62% of prospects say advances in artificial intelligence had some influence on their interest in starting businesses, and 25% say that it makes them more interested in businesses enhanced or enabled by AI. Further, 33% say that it actually boosts desire to control their own destinies through business ownership rather than lose their jobs to AI. But 18% say they favor businesses less likely to be displaced by AI (down from 40% in June).

Now 90% of aspiring franchisees see business conditions the same or better three months ahead.

Asked about timing, 53.3% of respondents planned their startups within the next three months, and 73.3% 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 88.9%.

Additional Survey highlights:

Future business conditions: Despite war headlines and spiking oil prices, 90% of respondents see conditions no worse – staying the same or getting better – in three months. Accordingly, only 10% of respondents are worried that conditions will be “worse or much worse” in three months.
Access to funding: 67.5% of entrepreneurs were concerned about finding adequate funding (the top concern), down from 78.9% in January 2026. Those who see funding “harder or much harder” to obtain in the next three months were 27.5% of the total. “Economic climate” was the second most common concern at 42.5% of respondents. Third ranked were “regulatory changes” at 22.5%.
Current Employment: Of these respondents, 40% were currently employed full-time. Another 10% of respondents were current business owners seeking an additional or replacement business. Freelancers and consultants were 27.5%, while part-timers were at 22.5%, and less than 1% were active military.
Age Cohorts: Gen-X remains the largest share, at 62.2% of respondents, just off the record 63.9% seen in June 2024. Boomers were 21.6% of respondents, topping the 13.5% who were Gen-Y (Millennials), the largest cohort in the adult population, but years away from the peak age for business ownership. Gen-Z came in at 2.7%, and the “Silent Generation” was less than 1% of respondents.

For the third month in a row, 62% 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 July 23-31, 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 Monday, August 3rd, 2026.