... / 2026 State of... / Appendix A. Methodology and limitations

This report synthesizes survey responses from Entrepreneurial Support Organizations serving 212,624 entrepreneurs in 2025. The source set contains 102 qualitative comments across the four quadrants: 26 strengths comments, 24 weaknesses comments, 26 opportunities comments, and 26 threats comments. Responses were re-read and grouped manually into recurring themes. Because many respondents named more than one idea in a single comment, the analysis is thematic rather than statistical. Terms such as recurring, widespread, and emerging are therefore more appropriate than precise rankings unless a specific coding rule is disclosed.

• This is a qualitative synthesis of submitted comments, not a census of all ESOs or all startup founders.
• The respondent base appears to be diverse in geography and perspective, but it is not fully uniform; some comments are local or sector-specific, while others are national or international in scope.
• The report should therefore be read as a practitioner view of the field in 2026, not as a definitive measurement of the entire entrepreneurship economy.