According to Findex’s SME Growth Index 2026, 62% of Gen Z and millennial founders say they have avoided making a business decision or believe they made the wrong one because they didn’t know where to get professional advice.
That is more than double the rate of Gen X – and nearly three times the rate of baby boomers.
At the same time, they are the most optimistic generation in the SME sector. Half say they are very optimistic about growth over the next 12 months, compared with just 19% of Gen X and 12% of baby boomers.
It’s not surprising younger founders are feeling the pressure. They are scaling earlier, moving faster and operating in more complex markets than any generation before them.
The report, which surveyed more than 500 Australian SME owners and senior decisionmakers, shows that Gen Z and millennial founders are outshining more seasoned business owners on ambition across almost every measure.
Thirty-nine per cent plan to expand into new markets, compared with 21% of Gen X and 17% of baby boomers. Forty per cent plan to invest in new tools or technology, compared with 23% of Gen X and 14% of baby boomers.
Michelle Sinclair, head of business performance at Findex, says younger founders are also operating in a fundamentally different commercial environment.
“In my experience, younger SMEs are far more agile. Businesses today are basically born global,” Sinclair tells SmartCompany. “In the past, businesses were largely constrained by geography. Now you set up your online presence, your website and your socials, and you are instantly accessible to customers anywhere in the world.
“Technology is also evolving at such a rapid pace that business owners have to be ready to adapt just to stay competitive.”
Yet beneath that confidence sits a growing execution gap.
Across the SME sector, 45% of business owners say they have already avoided making a decision or believe they made the wrong one because they did not know where to get professional advice. One in four say this has happened multiple times.
For younger founders, the number rises sharply.
Among businesses under five years old, more than half report having avoided or mishandled a key decision due to lack of advice. For medium-sized businesses, the figure jumps to 66%.
We’re not talking about minor moments of hesitation either. They are decisions around hiring, expansion, pricing, technology investment and funding – the types of choices that determine whether a business grows or stalls.
The nature of financial advice has changed, but the industry has not universally caught up.
“The role of a financial advisor has changed dramatically over the past decade. In the early days, clients would bring us their bank statements, and we would build reports from scratch. That was the job. But now business owners can pull all of that information themselves and generate endless reams of data with a few clicks,” says Sinclair. “That’s no longer where the value sits.”
Instead, she says founders need help interpreting what the numbers actually mean for their business.
“Anyone can run reports now. The real value is knowing what to look at, what actually matters, and how to use that information to make better decisions.”
In an interesting twist, younger founders are not disengaged from advisors.
In fact, they report higher satisfaction with their advisors than any other generation. Sixty-eight per cent say they receive good support from their accountant or business advisor, and more than a third say their advisor is a true growth partner.
Yet at the same time, 85% say their advisor lacks capabilities they need. The most common gaps include financial planning or forecasting, strategic business advisory and cashflow or capital management.
In other words, they value the relationship but still feel exposed when it comes to big decisions.
“At your first meeting, pay attention to what they focus on,” Sinclair says. “If the conversation is only about tax returns and compliance, that’s a red flag.”
An advisor should be curious about you as a founder – how you work, what your personal situation looks like and what you actually want for the business – your vision, your ambitions, your plans. Those things matter because they shape the strategy.
A good advisor should also be able to turn your numbers into decisions. What to change. What to invest in. What to stop doing. And when and how to make those moves so they actually drive growth.
“As businesses grow, decisions get more complex. That means advice is needed across tax, cashflow, funding, risk, personal wealth and long-term planning. But managing multiple firms is time-consuming and inefficient,” says Sinclair.
“One of the things I like about Findex is we work with clients from a family-style approach. You have a lead advisor who understands your financial picture and can coordinate support from in-house specialists when it is needed.”
Rather than managing multiple advisory relationships, she recommends founders seek out an advisor that can act as a central point of contact with easy access to a broader advisory team.
For founders building at speed, clarity around the decisions that matter most can make all the difference as the business grows.
Book your complimentary discovery meeting with a Findex business advisor today. Visit findex.com.au/business-advisory
The work Findex does spans people, businesses, industries, countries, even continents. But wherever they work and whomever they work with, their clients are the centre of what they do. Their stories form the heart and soul of their business. As fierce advocates for their clients’ success, Findex empower its clients with the tools to write their story the way they want it to be. And they’re very proud to share a few of those stories through Your Story is Our Business.
