Research Report on Athletes’ Entrepreneurial Mindset
For anyone who wants the evidence this project is built on.
PDF, 29 pages, English
One hundred athletes answered a survey and twelve sat down for longer interviews, in Poland, Türkiye, Belgium and Norway. The study asked what they already carry over from sport, what stops them, and what they would actually use.
Two findings shaped everything the project builds next. Athletes rate their teamwork at 4.6 out of 5 and their resilience at 4.4, but their financial planning at 2.3 and their legal knowledge at 1.9. And the main barrier is different in every country, so one programme written for a European average would fit nobody.
| Teamwork and leadership | 4.6 |
|---|---|
| Resilience and mindset | 4.4 |
| Public speaking | 3.8 |
| Digital marketing | 3.2 |
| Financial planning | 2.3 |
| Legal and regulatory | 1.9 |
What’s inside
- Summary
- The three main findings on a single page.
- Background and method
- What earlier research and European dual-career policy say, and how the survey and the interviews were run.
- Findings
- Survey results by country and by skill, then what athletes said in the interviews, in their own words.
- What it means
- Why knowing is not the same as doing, why one programme cannot fit four countries, what that means for policy, and the limits of the study.
- Recommendations
- How the project’s toolkit should be built, followed by the survey questionnaire and the interview guide.
Where to start
Short on time? The one-page summary at the start gives the three main findings. For your own country, go to the survey findings, where the barriers are compared country by country.
PDF, 29 pages, English
Led by Young Entrepreneurs Society
All outputs
Assess
Entrepreneurial Mindset Assessment Tool for Athletes
AvailableA self-assessment of fifteen to twenty minutes that shows what you already bring from sport, where the gaps are, and where to start.
Empower
Athlete Entrepreneurial Spirit and Mindset Empowerment Toolkit
AvailableSixteen practical tools in four modules, from identity beyond sport to cash flow, each with a worked example and a worksheet.
Empower
Athlete Entrepreneurial Spirit and Mindset Training Kit
AvailableStories of athletes who built something beyond sport, a catalogue of online courses, most of them free, and a directory of books, podcasts and talks.
Connect
Supporting Kit for Network and Community
AvailableA directory of support across Europe and the partner countries, searchable by need, stage, country and sport, and a step-by-step guide to building your own network.