Tips for Success from Gen Y – The Entrepreneurial Generation

What makes the new generation more entrepreneurial than the previous ones?

It is basically a combination of inspiration from the the previous generation and having the advantage of being exposed to advancing technology, accessibility to efficient computing and of course, the cool electronic gadgets – right from an early age.

Education also plays an important role in molding the new entrepreneurs to success. Many business schools are devoting their course structure entirely to harness the best potential of the budding entrepreneurs.

 

Quoting an article in the INC magazine:

No wonder that a recent study by The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor shows that 18- to 24-year-olds in the United States are starting businesses at a faster rate than 35- to 44-year-olds. The college campus is now a fertile breeding ground for company builders. “Forty percent or more of students who come into our undergraduate entrepreneurship program as freshmen already have a business,” says Jeff Cornwall, the Massey Chair in Entrepreneurship at Belmont University in Nashville. “It’s a whole new world.”

Our Take on Success


In an article in the Entrepreneur magazine, titled Young Millionaires, I was inspired by some very interesting and inspiring insights from these gen Y millionaires. These words of wisdom can be used by anyone so see if these can help you in your present career or maybe lay the foundation of your next business venture!

Follow their Lead, here’s a compilation of some words of wisdom and advice from this article;

  • Do something creative–but still in line with your product philosophy–to distinguish yourself to buyers.
  • Use your youth to your advantage by introducing something new into the market.
  • Raise the standard and you’ll find that you’ll never go out of style.
  • Give your customers a voice, and they just might use it to spread the word about your business.
  • Stay focused and don’t lose sight of why you’re in business.
  • Network - Chat up your new business every chance you get, as you never know where leads will come from.
  • Knowledgeable team members can help you grow your business to new heights.
  • No matter how fast your company grows, stay focused on keeping your product quality standards high.
  • Don’t let a good thing pass you by. Seize the right opportunity, and you just might become the market leader.
  • Unique is good! – Just because you haven’t taken the cookie-cutter path to entrepreneurship doesn’t mean you can’t make your business a success.
  • Let your passion be the driving force in your business.
  • When you fill a hole in the market with a quality product, customers will take notice.
  • Surround yourself with entrepreneurial-minded employees and you’ll gain a creative, dedicated work force and a constant infusion of innovative ideas.
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Silicon Valley’s “Restless Mind Syndrome”

No people, it is not a disease it is quite similar to what you would describe as the symptoms for the restless leg syndrome:
“Motor restlessness, expressed as activity that relieves the urge to move”, just replace the word “motor” with “Mind”.

Over generations the work culture has been changing and evolving, the new trend for the 21st century is the growth of small business and innovative technology research and development. The possibilities of diversification in different technological and medical sector have increased immensely and it no longer a great charm (for many if not most) to be in one field of interest or career for long. The tilt and trend is towards entrepreneurship and that too, not one venture or two, an entrepreneur today aims at starting out 2-3 start-ups and more in his/her lifetime – this is also the mind set of the new workforce in their 20s, restless and ready to take on the world, after all they have the inspirational Generation X entrepreneurs as mentors and role-models.

Quite apt concluding remarks at the proceedings of a SBA (Small Business Association) conference titled Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century:

Entrepreneurs will drive economic growth in the 21st century. Given the contributions of small businesses to the U.S. economy, it is important that policymakers recognize and support them. Sound data and methodology are needed to accurately understand and model our dynamic economic marketplace.

Quoting the dynamic SAP exec., Shai Agassi, as he moves on to new global ventures, “In the valley, you can’t just do one thing.”

This is the trend of the 21st century at work and this is the Silicon Valley at present.

The Future Trends in Silicon Valley
In the annual “To 10 Trends” event by the Silicon Valley bisuness leaders, the article Silicon Valley business leaders gaze into crystal ball, quotes:

Most of the predictions were far from bold, however. Schoendorf, for example, predicted much more to come in the world of online video, saying that “five years from now, we’ll be talking about YouTubes and eBays that haven’t been created yet. There will be four or five mega-billion (dollar) plays in the video space.” He also predicted the rise of radical approaches to treating brain disease.”

Role of Immigrant Entrepreneurs
The urge to venture out in various enterprises is also being accelerated in the Silicon Valley by the large immigrant community, who are the emerging entrepreneurs of the world. According to an analysis of engineering and technology companies founded from 1995 to 2005 in Silicon Valley, CA and Research Triangle Park, NC. (Information Source: http://www.wral.com/business/local_tech_wire/opinion/story/1129922/ ):

  • Over half (52.4%) of Silicon Valley startups had one or more immigrants as a key founder, compared with the California average of 38.8%.
  • A comparison with Saxenian’s 1999 findings shows that the percentage of firms with Indian or Chinese founders had increased from 24% to 28%. Indian immigrants outpaced their Chinese counterparts as founders of engineering and technology companies in Silicon Valley. Saxenian reported that 17% of Silicon Valley startups from 1980-1998 had a Chinese founder and 7% had an Indian founder. We found that from 1995 to 2005, Indians were key founders of 15.5% of all Silicon Valley startups, and immigrants from China and Taiwan were key founders in 12.8%.
  • In Research Triangle Park, 18.7% of startups had an immigrant as a key founder, compared with the North Carolina average of 13.9%. Indians constitute the largest immigrant founding group, with 25% of startups, followed by immigrants from Germany and the U.K., each with 15%.
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