The Making of an Entrepreneurial Generation
How new technologies, a proliferation of resources, and a disenchantment with the corporate world are making Generation Y the most entrepreneurial in history.
From: Inc.com By: Donna Fenn
What better measure of a generation than its approach to entrepreneurship? Generation Y, born between 1977 and 1994, may well be on its way to becoming the most entrepreneurial generation in our nation’s history — and for very good reasons. They took their baby steps during our first true entrepreneurial decade, the 1980s; watched their parents “restructured” out of what were once lifetime corporate jobs; saw barriers to entry collapse as technology democratized the business start-up process; enrolled in newly-minted college entrepreneurship programs, which have increased seven-fold in the past six years.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.”
The rising stars on this year’s 30 Under 30 list would most certainly agree. We’ve got a few high school start-ups, and several more college dorm room launches. Some are already racking up revenues in the tens of millions, while others are just experiencing the first blush of success. But we think that all of them are worth watching, not just for the companies they’re running today, but for the ones they’ve yet to conceive of but will most surely start in the future. Because here’s the thing about Gen Y entrepreneurs: they’re lifers, or so they say: the majority plan to start more than one company in their lifetimes.
For the entire article go to Inc.com
It seems that the two mos entrepreneurial groups in America are the Boomers who downsized or tired of corporate life are opening their own business, and the twenty-something Gen Y’ers who are not comfortable working int he corporate world.
Corra has conducted background searches for both groups. While years apart, they show common ground in looking for adventurous and talented individuals who can help them get their businesses off the ground. In qualifying candidates, Corra recommends the criminal check, of course, education verification and a credit report, as well as other searches. It is important for fledgling companies to at least have a strong professional foundation.
So don’t just think you know someone, rely on your instincts, or merely hope for the best. Be smart, and check them out before you hire.
