AI is making entrepreneurship more accessible, scalable and attractive to young talent. They’re taking full advantage.
Entrepreneurship is having a moment—and Gen Z is here for it
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Entrepreneurship is having a moment. LinkedIn recently reported a 69% YoY jump in U.S. LinkedIn members adding ‘founder’ to their profile, while founders, strategic advisors and independent consultants are one of the top 10 fastest-growing jobs in the U.S.
And Gen Z is in the thick of it.
Becoming an entrepreneur used to mean overcoming significant barriers. You needed enough capital to get started and the right connections to keep going, both of which were tougher for younger workers to get.
All of this is changing today as technology levels the playing field—a reality that Gen Z is leveraging in their quest for a fulfilling professional life. The impact of AI on people’s ability to start their own business is hard to overstate. LinkedIn found that:
- 77% of founders say entrepreneurship is accessible regardless of background
- 73% of Gen Z entrepreneurs have multiple income streams
- 69% of founders say entrepreneurship is more achievable than ever
- 75% of entrepreneurs say networks are critical to success
- 68% of Gen Z entrepreneurs say AI is important to their business
It’s a moment made for Gen Z, whose entrepreneurial dreams predate the widespread adoption of AI. With entry-level jobs becoming rarer on the ground and Gen Z facing higher unemployment than other generations, entrepreneurship would have been a natural fit even if it hadn’t already been one of their defining traits.
The portfolio career
‘Diversify your investments’ is one of the cornerstone rules of investing, so why not apply it to income as well? According to LinkedIn, 73% of Gen Z entrepreneurs report multiple income streams, making them the most likely generation to diversify the money coming in.
This type of work life is often called a ‘portfolio career,’ where a person builds multiple income streams instead of relying on a single job or business. While it may seem like a juggling act to older generations, younger entrepreneurs are here for it: diversifying income, reducing risk and maintaining greater control over their work and financial outcomes.
Diversifying their income is a lesson learned by watching older generations struggle through economic uncertainty, job loss and the pandemic. Gen Z saw all that and decided they’d rather be the captain of their own financial destiny. It’s not hard to see why portfolio careers are gaining traction.
The AI equalizer
Right now AI can be a cost-effective way to perform much of the tedious work associated with running a business. According to the data, 77% of founders think anyone, from any background, can become an entrepreneur, with 69% saying it’s more achievable now than it’s ever been.
Again, Gen Z is showing us how it’s done. While just 27% of Baby Boomer entrepreneurs say AI and digital tools are important to their business, this number more than doubles to 68% of Gen Z entrepreneurs who say the same. Nearly 1 in 5 Gen Z entrepreneurs say AI made starting their business feel possible.
A new definition of success
Though they value many things alongside financial security, 56% of Gen Z defines success in terms of financial wealth, making them the most likely generation to do so. While their focus on finances and aversion to debt harks back to their Baby Boomer grandparents, Gen Z’s youth gives them an entrepreneurial advantage: They’re nearly three times more willing to take risks than Boomers.
But their risk-taking isn’t reckless. LinkedIn found that they’re also more likely to experiment with business ideas before they implement them (20%). In other words, they’re comfortable with a level of risk if they’ve done their research ahead of time.
It’s all who you know
Networking is a valuable skill for entrepreneurs, 75% of whom say their professional network was important to launching or expanding their business. It’s still all about who you know, but who you know can now be anyone, anywhere. More than 6 in 10 entrepreneurs identify as content creators, expanding their reach through the digital world.
Having grown up in a world that is always connected, Gen Z intuitively understands that visibility is everything to their success. While they tend to be more private with personal details online than their Millennial counterparts, they know that their online persona is integral to their success.
A strategy for personal branding and audience-building is even true for entrepreneurs in the skilled trades, where many young electricians, plumbers, HVAC technicians and others film their work to share with avid followers on social media. These ‘blue-collar influencers’ are showing their peers (and the rest of us) just how interesting rewarding these types of careers can be.
Maybe it’s less ‘all who you know’ and more ‘all who you can reach’ in our online world.
Forging their own future
As an entrepreneur myself, I’m watching Gen Z’s take on this lifestyle with interest. Though many parents, educators and employers have bought into the negative stereotypes about this generation, I see Gen Z achieving beyond expectations—because our expectations were always too low.
This generation values flexibility, purposeful work and a healthy balance between work and the rest of life. They also find more security in being their own boss than working for someone else, a sharp departure from most of us in older generations. These are powerful assets in a world where building your own business has become a more compelling option than ever.
The employment landscape is always changing, but the pace seems accelerated today. Gen Z is forging their own future with the digital tools and skills they’ve acquired. Those of us who are older-gen educators and employers should consider if we’re preparing them for today’s reality or the one we grew up with.
AI is making entrepreneurship more accessible and scalable to everyone, but especially to young talent. Let’s not underestimate what they can accomplish.
