Trinity Leads in Europe in Producing Entrepreneurs

Posted on: 17 December 2015

Trinity has produced more entrepreneurs than any other university in Europe over the last five years, according to The Universities Report by private equity and venture capital-focused research firm, PitchBook.

The report shows Trinity produced 114 entrepreneurs and 106 companies, and raised €575.7 million in capital between 2010 and 2015. The Universities Report, published in October 2015, evaluates colleges based on the number of undergraduate alumni they have who went on to create companies who have secured first-round venture capital funding.

In comparison, second-placed Oxford University produced 72 entrepreneurs. The University of Manchester was ranked third with 71, while University College Dublin, the only other Irish university in the Top 10, was fourth with 70.

“This is a fantastic achievement and underlines the impact our graduates are making as innovators and entrepreneurs whose companies are changing Ireland – and the world – for the better. Trinity is committed to supporting our students develop into entrepreneurs who can create real social and economic impact,” commented Director of Trinity Research & Innovation, Diarmuid O’Brien.

Among Trinity’s many high-profile success stories are the companies Artomatix and Foodcloud, both of which were nurtured through the University’s Launchbox programme. Launchbox is a student start-up accelerator which provides young entrepreneurs with funding and mentorship to help them develop their business ideas.

In a separate report by salary benchmarking company Emolument.com, Trinity graduates are among those Irish university graduates who earn the highest salaries. 

Emolument.com crowdsources market data by allowing users to enter their own pay details and benchmark their salaries against other workers from similar educational and professional backgrounds in real-time.

Emolument data, as reported in the Irish Times (5 December 2015), shows that Trinity College alumni working in financial services earn average salaries of €112,536 annually while overall, Trinity graduates earn €60,000 annually on average.