Upstarts!: How GenY Entrepreneurs are Rocking the World of Business and 8 Ways You Can Profit from Their Success

They’re young, they’re brash, they’re smart—and they’re 77-million strong. Generation Y is creating startups at an unprecedented rate, and their approach to business is unlike anything you’ve seen. The generation described by the media as spoiled, entitled, even narcissistic, is proving these notions false every day. Inspired by the rock-star entrepreneurs of previous generations and driven by a burning desire to control their own destinies, GenY is rewriting the entrepreneurial playbook one cool startup at a time. Inc. magazine writer Donna Fenn interviewed more than 150 young CEOs to learn what makes them tick. While upstarts are motivated by similar aspirations of past generations, their way of doing business is radically different—and it’s changing the way everyone must do business now. Upstarts examines and analyzes this entrepreneurial revolution to reveal eight critical lessons every entrepreneur and marketer must learn. Fenn describes a generation of entrepreneurs that is highly collaborative and team-oriented. It’s quick and alert when it comes to new technologies. It’s hell-bent on changing the world. And it’s totally impatient with outmoded business models. The sooner you adapt to the new way of business, the greater chance you have to grow and profit in the years ahead. Upstarts provides key insight into: Building collaborative tribes Deploying technology to your competitive advantage Disrupting the status quo Deconstructing the GenY market Generating branding buzz Adopting a social mission Inventing the workplace of the future Reinventing your company Misreading GenY companies could be the biggest business mistake you ever make. This forward-looking book serves both as a headsup to the far-reaching changes coming your way and as a detailed guide to meeting the resulting challenges. The upstarts are here to stay. Are you?

8 CRITICAL

BUSINESS LESSONS

FROM THE

NEW ENTREPRENEURS

“One of the richest veins in startup gold is GenY

entrepreneurs. Fenn deconstructs the DNA of

this collaborative, tech-savvy generation to

illuminate the future of entrepreneurship.”

Guy Kawasaki, cofounder, Alltop,

and author of Reality Check

“If your business is stuck in old-school

ways of thinking, this book will bring new

perspective and insight on how a whole new

class of upstarts are thinking!”

Tony Hsieh, CEO, Zappos

“In this smart, timely book, Donna Fenn shows

us how Generation Y—probably the most

entrepreneurial generation ever—is radically

remaking the business world in its own image,

one innovative startup company at a time.”

Jane Berentson, editor, Inc. magazine

“This book will make you feel confident.

Confident in the fact that Generation Y has the

tools, creativity, desire, passion, energy and

smarts to keep this great nation in a position of

leadership economically for decades to come.”

Harry Paul, coauthor of FISH! and

Instant Turnaround!

“This book will change your perception of

millennials and by the time you’re finished

reading it, you’ll either want to work for one,

partner with one, or be that age again.”

Dan Schawbel, author of Me 2.0

Donna Fenn is the author of Alpha Dogs:

How Your Small Business Can Become a Leader

of the Pack and a contributing writer at Inc.

magazine. An expert on small business

trends and entrepreneurship for more than

20 years, she is also a community leader on

Work.com, a featured expert on SBTV.com,

and a blogger on Inc.com. She lives in

Pelham, NY, with her husband, Guian Heintzen,

and is the proud mom of two GenYers. For more information, go to Upstarts.com.

Contents 10 Acknowledgments 12 Introduction: The Upstarts Are Coming! 16 Chapter 1 Extreme Collaborators: Building Cooperative Tribes to Compete 32 Chapter 2 Technology Mavens: Technology Is the Great Enabler and the Best Differentiator 58 Chapter 3 Game Changers: Disrupting the Status Quo and Altering the Playing Field 86 Chapter 4 Market Insiders: Marketing Fast and Furiously to Their Own Generation 110 Chapter 5 Brand Builders: A Brand Is a Dialogue, Not a Monologue 134 Chapter 6 Social Capitalists: Capitalism and Social Mission Make a Lovely Couple 158 Chapter 7 Workplace Renegades: Redefining the World of Work 182 Chapter 8 Morph Masters: Knowing How to Morph, Scale, and Grow Up 204 Chapter 9 The Future of Upstarts 228 Appendix A: Upstarts Survey 236 Appendix B: Expert Advice for Upstarts from Rock Star Entepreneurs 254 Bibliography 260 Index 266 A 266 B 266 C 267 D 267 E 268 F 268 G 268 H 269 I 269 J 269 K 269 L 270 M 270 N 270 O 271 P 271 R 271 S 271 T 272 U 273 V 273 W 273 X 273 Y 273 Z 273 They're the largest group of self-starters in the history of the planet, and they're not only starting businesses at a faster rate than any other generation, they're the Holy Grail for every company looking for the hottest new market to sell to. This eye-opening book reveals eight important lessons every marketer and entrepreneur can learn from these upstarts Examining the GenY entrepreneurial revolution to reveal eight critical lessons every entrepreneur and marketer must learn; this book will help you adapt to the new way of business to give you a greater chance to grow and profit in the years ahead. -- Résumé abrégé tiré de l'ouvrage Cites the examples of young internet entrepreneurs while outlining eight key marketing, branding, and collaborating strategies that can be gleaned from the successes of such companies as Loopt, WordPress.com, and MentalFloss.