We agree and think that applies to kids, too.
We are 16-year-old high school students, and we are part of one of the most entrepreneurial generations ever.
We are also living in the most disruptive time in decades, with a pandemic, climate change, social fractures and polarized political parties. We’re concerned about truth, ethics, and identity, and we are bringing these values into our buying habits and transforming how businesses operate. We’re a mobile, digital, and social generation, with technology coursing through our blood. We have grown up with products created by Mark Zuckerberg, MacKenzie Scott, Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, Jack Dorsey, Anne Wojcicki and Erik Yuan—billionaire entrepreneurs who have changed the way our world connects and thinks. We are a generation questioning everything our parents thought to be true and are thinking outside the box to find solutions that will revolutionize the way we live.
The two of us started writing this book when we were twelve, when we went into lockdown at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. We thought other kids might have the same questions we did about starting up a business . . . so we got Down to Business.
We pitched more than 125 business leaders, and about half agreed to talk to us. We learned to research, write interview questions, make cold calls, talk to schedulers and agents, and mustered the courage to interview some of the top business leaders in the country. It got easier the more we did it, and we were blown away by how generous these experts were with their advice.
You’ll read how culture and networks influenced their journeys and who their biggest mentors were. You will learn that many of these entrepreneurs failed before making it big, and few regret their choices.
Beyond business advice, we asked these entrepreneurs how they would cope with some of the pressures Gen Z faces today and grapple with the challenges before us. We asked about fake news, Instagram filters, cyberbullying, and the limits of technology.
We asked what they were like in middle and high school, if they knew what they wanted to study in college before they went, and whether it is still a good idea to go to college at all. We asked if they had friends from other countries and how that shaped them. And we asked them to imagine how they would do things differently if they were in our shoes.
We dream of this book being in every school library and youth civics organization worldwide - and in every language! Entrepreneurship can indeed be a great equalizer, and through this book, we hope more kids will have the roadmap they need to bring the world the next generation of great products, services, and ideas.
