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SSIA Research
SSIA Research
The State of Startups with Industry Analysts

  • Have your say.
    ​Get the 2027 Startup AR insights

    For startups:Your perspective matters whether analyst relations plays no role, a small part or is mission-critical in your growth strategy. Have your say. It helps us identify priorities and patterns across categories, geographies and growth stages.


    For analysts: How is AI changing your interactions with startups these days? Help us understand the good and bad impacts on briefings, inquiries, and evaluation submissions. Have your say. It helps us level up startups' AR practices.


    The 2027 report is expected in Q1 of 2027. Survey contributors will receive the report and access to an exclusive findings webinar one month before public release.


    Startup Survey
    Analyst Survey

What previous SSIA research has revealed

850+

research participants to date
startups – analysts – investors

3,000+

startups represented by investors and accelerator programmes

650+

analyst-highlighted startups
examined separately

SSIA brings together data and commentary from startup teams, industry analysts and the investor/accelerator ecosystem. This comprehensive approach allows us a uniquely informed perspective on their interplay. SSIA is not a longitudal research, instead we keep adding more pieces of insight to the picture. Here are a few examples.

AR value is systematically underestimated before engagement

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Investors observe stronger growth, lower risk and faster progress in startups that practice AR

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Delaying AR until Series A creates a structural disadvantage as investors use analysts systematically in key areas

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Early analyst engagement can speed up visibility to strategic buyers by 4 years and more

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Explore previous SSIA reports

About the research

The State of Startups with Industry Analysts (SSIA) is an independent research programme.

SSIA examines how emerging B2B technology vendors, investors and industry analysts interact, and what makes or breaks successful AR management for startups. It aims to provide evidence-based insights that help startups and innovation ecosystems around the world and contribute to wider industry and policy discussions.

The research explores the business priorities that startup teams support through AR, their use cases, activities and management practices. It purposely includes contributors with and without direct startup analyst relations experience so that the complete picture is considered.

SSIA identifies practices, misconceptions, barriers, success drivers, patterns and trends across maturity stages, categories and geographies, with each research round investigating new questions and building on previous findings to extend and sharpen the picture. 

Initiated by experienced AR practitioners, SSIA combines strategic understanding and hands-on know-how with academic research methods. It draws on surveys, interviews and analysis of publicly available data.

SSIA focuses on B2B technology and services startups and scaleups operating for no more than ten years. The research has no restrictions in terms of geography, product category, industry, financing method or company size.

All participant information is treated confidentially.

Contact details are only used in context of the research.

The people behind SSIA

Initiated in 2021, SSIA brings together industry analyst relations practitioners and academic expertise, with the involvement of the University of Edinburgh Business School.


Robin Schaffer

Research Co-Author

Industry analyst relations expert.

Robin contributes extensive experience and translates complex observations into practical insights relevant to the analyst relations community.

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Chris Holscher

Initiator & Research Co-Author

Industry analyst relations specialist for startups and investors. Chris initiated SSIA, pairing his AR thought leadership with a background as startup operator and

investor platform advisor.

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Prof. Neil Pollock

Academic Research Collaborator

Professor of Innovation and Social Informatics at the University of Edinburgh Business School. Neil adds academic expertise and support from the brilliant PhD researchers

in his group.

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