Why UK founders want tax breaks, and why it signals a bigger shift

Founders across five global markets believe the same thing according to Shopify data: owning a business feels more financially secure than relying on a paycheck. For decades, the career advice was simple: get the degree, get the job, get the stability. Entrepreneurship was for people with a safety net or a tolerance for chaos.

The responsible move was a regular paycheck. That script is outdated. And founders have been rewriting it for years. Shopify partnered with The Harris Poll to survey business owners across five markets—the U. S. , Canada, the U. K. , Australia, and Spain—on how they think about financial security, career risk, and whether they’d make the same choice again.

The results suggest the traditional career path is losing its core selling point. 95% of founders across these markets say building their business is one of their proudest accomplishments. When asked whether they’d choose to start again (in this economy, in 2026) the answer was a resounding yes: 90% in Australia, 89% in the U. S.

, 87% in Spain, 85% in the U. K. , 78% in Canada. However there are still challenges and UK founders are once again pushing for tax breaks to encourage reinvestment after exits – arguing capital should stay in the startup ecosystem rather than be taxed out of it. But this is more than a policy debate.

It reflects a deeper shift in how entrepreneurship is now being understood. In the UK: 85% of founders say they would start a business again today 64% were pulled in by autonomy and purpose Just 12% say they were pushed by insecurity This helps explain the growing pressure for reinvestment incentives.

If entrepreneurship is no longer a single bet but an ongoing cycle, founders are increasingly motivated to roll capital and experience into their next venture. Nearly 9 in 10 say they would reinvest in new businesses if the policy environment made it easier.

This aligns with wider Shopify data showing more people starting businesses, and repeat founders becoming more successful over time as their skills and returns compound which reinforces the idea of entrepreneurship as a long-term path rather than a one-off leap.