By Tony Deblauwe
Upstarts!: How GenY Entrepreneurs are Rocking the World of Business and 8 Ways
You Can Profit from Their Success by Donna Fenn
Retail: $25.95
ISBN: 978-0071601887
Living
and working in Silicon Valley: the
Fenn opens
up the dialogue with how cultural norms within this group fuel their passion
and direction such as brand, social justice, and the need to work on their
terms – a philosophy born out of seeing their parents get wiped out from
corporate downsizing. They see a servant-leader model focused on collaboration
that strives to share the wealth with all. To that end they don’t view weekends
and long hours as work – but an extension of themselves and their passions –
the very fuel that most entrepreneurs need to be successful.
In terms
of modeling, Upstarts shows the basic formula for the Millennial world view.
They grew up understanding team activities so they collaborate easily. College
is the incubator where they meet like-minded spirits. Throw in a dose of mentoring
and encouragement their creativity flows. Soon corporations (often in the form
of strategic partnerships or community outreach) get involved and fund their
innovations.
Leveraging
technology is key as well. No surprise as Fenn points out; Millennial
entrepreneurs are accustomed to an imperfect business launch via the web,
coupled with social networking chatter and buzz. Soon a community platform is
built that praises (and buys) the product or service idea. It doesn’t take long
for this simple business plan to leapfrog into game changers or new rules of
engagement. This mentality allows the GenY entrepreneur to adapt quickly to
changing customer needs, uncover underserved niches, and professionalize
old-economy businesses.
Acting
fast on trends or rapid re-design isn’t the only key differentiators for GenY
entrepreneurs. Fenn describes the role this group plays in corporations and
what to do about managing this talent pool. Fenn outlines key strategies such
as flexibility, continuous learning, frequent feedback, open spaces, and
increasing the frequency of web-based tools to keep communication flowing and
dynamic.
Fenn
interviewed 150 young CEOs for the data behind the conceptual and practical
guidance she offers in Upstarts. The result is a rich text that gives you
background, real world examples, and playlists that condense the essential
learning points into digestible information chunks. The book also contains an
appendix full of stats from her survey and advice from experts which is very
insightful in itself.
