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In a context in which young people increasingly question their professional career prospects, this article aims to identify students’ motivations to set up businesses. More specifically, it investigates the way in which this project emerges in relation to other representations that they have of their studies and their professional future. In order to answer this question, we rely on a study conducted with 2125 students in a French university, who have not necessarily taken business studies or been trained as entrepreneurs. After identifying the main characteristics of students who are attracted to entrepreneurship, we will establish a typology of their attitudes to study and the labour market, in order to try and understand the main factors that lead them to create their own businesses.