Returning from maternity leave to the traditional world of law, Carly Stebbing quickly discovered that the profession was not set up to embrace people who wanted to work three days a week. So she co-founded Resolution123, an online employment law advice site. Not only was entrepreneurship more flexible than an office law job – it also led to a startup that matches expert support for people facing unfair dismissal, workplace bullying or underpayment.

In theory, anyone can found a startup. In practice, startup founders aren't typically like Stebbing. They are most likely to be young men from affluent backgrounds. This isn’t just inequitable – it’s also inefficient. Society ends up missing out on the productive talents of potential Marie Curies and Albert Einsteins, just because they grow up in disadvantaged circumstances.

Physicist and chemist Marie Curie, who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. Credit:Blanche de Lorier

According to one study of innovation, Americans who were born into the top 1 per cent were 10 times as likely to become inventors as those born into the bottom half of the income distribution. Bright young entrepreneurs in affluent households can typically borrow money from their parents. They can draw on broad social networks to connect to suppliers, business partners, and customers. By contrast, equally bright entrepreneurs in poor families might have great ideas, but lack the networks and resources to realise them.

In Australia, the Startup Muster survey of technology startups found a similar skew. Women comprise just 22 per cent of founders. Children of entrepreneurial parents are over-represented among innovators. It helps to have money. Asked how they funded their startup, two-thirds of founders said that they made a personal cash contribution.