Open

Nov 09, 2009 -

It may sound like a contradiction to say that the new Gen Y entrepreneurs have learned a lot, but it’s because many of the lessons they’ve learned have come from watching others – especially other entrepreneurs.  They’re also more collaborative, unafraid to approach other business owners for partnerships, advice, or ideas.

I’ve learned this from Donna Fenn, who I’ve met a couple of times, most recently when she spoke with some members of the American Express OPEN team about Gen Y entrepreneurs.  In her new book, Upstarts: How Gen Y Entrepreneurs are Rocking the World of Business and 8 Ways You Can Profit from Their Success, Donna turned her 20+ years of writing about entrepreneurship toward the phenomena of more and more young people starting their own businesses, some even before graduating high school.

In Upstarts!, Donna profiles 64 Gen Y entrepreneurs (which she defines as born after 1977) and shares some insights that even more established business owners could appreciate:

• Partner for success. “These days, it’s too risky to be myopic,” Donna told me.  “Gen Y entrepreneurs are not afraid to reach out, even to competitors, if it means finding a way to serve their customers. They’re also starting businesses with partners more so than previous generations – 60% of those who I surveyed had started their company with a partner.  And, they seem to know intuitively that they should seek out partners with complimentary skill sets.”
• Use technology to update an old industry. “A lot of them are taking the technology that they’ve grown up with and applying it to older industries to create greater speed and efficiencies – and to compete more effectively against the established players.”
• Be socially conscious.  “They don’t want to wait until their businesses are successful to be philanthropic.  Many start their companies with a socially conscious mission in mind,” Donna said.  Of the entrepreneurs she interviewed for her book, 70% had a socially conscious mission. “It not only helps the community, but also attracts Gen Y employees and boosts morale.”
• Build a great culture.  “Morale is very important to them.  They pursue work-life balance as a strategy, not a benefit. They want flexible work schedules, virtual workspaces, fun break areas for when you put in long hours.  Basically, they’re creating the kinds of companies that they’d want to work for.”  

Also, meritocracies are important. “They’re very performance-based.  They don’t get the idea of putting in years; they’re generally more impatient.  For some employers, this can come across as entitlement.”

Donna added that for both Gen Y entrepreneurs and employees, “Their impatience, though, is what drives them forward and makes them more collaborative.  They actively seek out mentors and advisors to help them jump the learning curve and succeed faster.”

Part of their drive, Donna said, is due to “a real culture shift around entrepreneurship being a cool thing to do.  This generation has grown up with role models like Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, and Bill Gates, and now they’re watching guys their own age, like Mark Zuckerberg and Tony Hsieh.”

And these Gen Y entrepreneurs are following in those big footsteps.  Donna had started interviewing for her book in early 2008, when the economy was better.  When she was in the final editing phase, her editor said to her, “You know, many of them have probably gone out of business.”  So Donna e-mailed them all and found that only one was going out of business.  A couple of others had been sold – one for $170 million.

If you have a story you’d like to share, please e-mail me at marcy@openforum.com.  You can also find me on Twitter @marcyshinder.

You can find more information about Donna Fenn and Upstarts at www.donnafenn.com and on Twitter @donnafenn.

In photo, from left to right: Casey Golden (Small Act Network), Donna Fenn, Joel Holland (Footage Firm), and Adelaide Fives (In Good Company Workplaces).