Press Room

"One of the richest veins in startup gold is Gen Y entrepreneurs. Fenn deconstructs the DNA of this collaborative, tech-savvy generation to illuminate the future of entrepreneurship.

"Guy Kawasaki, Co-founder of Alltop and author of Reality Check

We're in the midst of a perfect entrepreneurial storm - and more than 77 Million members of Generation Y are smack in the middle of it. As the business world continues to move its resources online, this generation, conditioned to living and breathing technology, has both the know-how and the role models to effectively transform the business landscape. And given the current dearth of employment opportunities, these Net Geners know that creating their own jobs and business plans is an increasingly promising path to success.

They're all born before 1977. They think differently than previous generations. They're more entrepreneurial than you can possibly imagine, and they're rocking the business world. What can you learn from them? Plenty.

UPSTARTS! How Gen Y Entrepreneurs are Rocking the World of Business and 8 Ways You Can Profit From Their Success (McGraw-Hill Professional; September, 2009; Hardcover, $25.95) has more than 60 profiles of amazing entrepreneurs who have combined technology, moxie, and cutting-edge business strategies to succeed, even as mature companies are struggling in the competitive environment. Investigating what makes them tick, Donna Fenn, writer for Inc. Magazine and an expert on the entrepreneurial habits of Gen Y, distilled eight key strategies of the Upstarts. Whether you're studying Gen Y's approach to business to beef up your own bottom line, or are aiming to be tomorrow's great under-30 entrepreneur story, these are concepts and steps to help get your own business out in front.

Gen Yers are launching businesses at an unprecedented rate. Some are starting up companies before they've even received their high school diplomas. They're committed serial entrepreneurs, many of whom have already started multiple businesses. They're also the Holy Grail of marketing targets - every company is clamoring to get their attention. But to get these Upstarts to sit up and pay attention to your message will require adopting some of their strategies.

In UPSTARTS!, you'll find profiles of: TerraCycle's Tom Szaky, who's building a multi-million dollar company making products entirely of garbage; Rob Kalin, founder of the wildly popular online craft marketplace, Etsy; and Catherine Cook, a Georgetown University senior who co-founded MyYearbook.com, one of the fastest growing social networks on the Web. You'll also meet the GenY stars behind Threadless, Loopt, College Hunks Hauling Junk, HappyBaby, PopCap, Mental Floss, and many, many more.

UPSTARTS! breaks down eight key factors that contribute to GenY business success:

Building collaborative tribes
Deploying technology for competitive advantage
Disrupting the status quo
Deconstructing the GenY market
Generating branding buzz
Leveraging social mission
Creating dynamic workplaces
Morphing and growing strategically
Fenn has also included a series of fascinating survey data of Upstarts she interviewed for the book ("Approximately half of the respondents said the recession has been good for, or has had little impact on, their company."), as well as Expert Advice for Upstarts from Rock Star Entrepreneurs like Seth Godin, Don Tapscott, and Guy Kawasaki.

Adopting the successful business habits of Gen Y can mean the difference between staying power and growing stale. It's your choice. UPSTARTS! are here to stay. Are you?

Donna Fenn, an expert on entrepreneurship and small business trends, has been a contributing editor with Inc. Magazine for more than 20 years. She is also a community leader at http://www.work.com/, a featured expert on http://www.sbtv.com/, a blogger on www.inc.com/, and an experienced keynote speaker.

In 2001, she was a co-recipient of the Women's Economic Round Table Entrepreneurship Prize, sponsored by the Kaufman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership.

Fenn was a Riyadh-based correspondent for The Associated Press. Her work has also appeared on The New York Times, Newsweek, the Washington Monthly, Working Woman, Working Mother, Family Money, CFO, Corporate Finance, Parents, and New England Monthly. Her previous book was Alpha Dogs: How Your Small Business Can Become a Leader of the Pack. Fenn lives in Pelham, NY with her husband, and is the proud mom of two Gen Yers.

Read more at http://www.donnafenn.com/

PRAISE FOR UPSTARTS!

"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

"I'm convinced we're seeing the rise of a new generation of entrepreneurs and UPSTARTS! is a storm warning.

Fuelled by and their initial experiences in the workforce, and empowered by their digital skills and culture of innovation, many of today's youth are setting a new course.

This book nails the trend -- a rich and thoroughly enjoyable insight into the future."
Don Tapscott, author of Grown Up Digital and Wikinomics

"This book will make you feel confident. Confident in the fact that the 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, FISH! A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results, and
Instant Turnaround! Getting People Excited About Coming to Work and Working Hard

"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 start-up company at a time."

Jane Berentson, Editor, Inc. Magazine

"In UPSTARTS!, Donna Fenn has navigated the millennial entrepreneurship generation, exposing thorough research and compelling stories.

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.

Donna is onto a major trend with UPSTARTS, and it will change the business world in the coming years."
Dan Schawbel, author of Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success

"With UPSTARTS!, Donna Fenn has given us the most colorful and complete picture yet of the entrepreneurial

generation creating our future: who they are, how they think, and why they are going to change the world.

She captures and categorizes them with the eye of a scientist and the words of a poet.

There are only two choices: buy this book or get left behind."
Billy Shore, Founder, Share our Strength

"UPSTARTS! is a rallying cry for the next generation of entrepreneurs, and

a wakeup call for everyone who hopes to compete with them."

Steve Mariotti, Founder National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE)

THE UPSTARTS ARE HERE!

A Conversation with Donna Fenn

Q. What inspired you to write UPSTARTS! ?

Donna Fenn: I've been writing about entrepreneurship and small business trends for Inc. Magazine and other publications for 25 years, so I'm very attuned to shifts in the small business community. A couple of years ago, I began to notice a vastly increasing number of people in their twenties (or even younger) starting businesses. Various publications began publishing lists of young CEOs; colleges and universities were adding entrepreneurship classes to their curriculum at an impressive rate. I was repeatedly receiving announcements about 25-year old entrepreneurs. Something new and important was happening! I wanted to explore more -- why these young people were starting companies, the types of companies they were starting, and if they were different from the companies I'd covered in the past.

Q. What are some of the recurring themes you've seen among GenY entrepreneurs?

DF: Obviously, this generation of entrepreneurs is fundamentally different from their older counterparts. Their use of technology is very important; that's the first thing that people typically mention about them. But to me the most important point about this generation is that they are, first and foremost, highly collaborative - what I call "Extreme Collaborators." They're accustomed to teamwork and it's evident in the way they start and grow their companies. It isn't just that they tend to start companies with partners, but also that they draw upon a huge pool of resources that just weren't available to older entrepreneurs - college professors who teach entrepreneurship courses (a relatively new phenomenon), parents who are supportive of their entrepreneurial ventures, and older entrepreneurs who are willing to mentor and sometimes invest in them. These resources are readily available and Gen Y entrepreneurs are eager to use them. They're not afraid to say "I don't know how to do this; help me." Previous generations prized the romantic image of the "lone wolf entrepreneur." But the world has changed and Gen Y intuitively understands the power of collaboration and collective knowledge. And yes, they know how to use technology to harness that power. But it's important to remember that technology is a tool.

There are other notable differences. GenY entrepreneurs are more likely to have some sort of social mission right out the gate. They're "Social Capitalists." While older entrepreneurs tend to wait until their companies are established and profitable, young entrepreneurs often want to make a commitment to a social mission right away. For instance, Happy Baby Food pledges to feed a child in Malawi for a day for every package sold. This generation wants to change the world and they're using entrepreneurship to do it.

Gen Y also understands the power of brands and is creating some memorable ones, sometimes in industries that we don't think of "brandable." Yes, we've got The Hundreds and Johnny Cupcakes - fabulous GenY brands. But there's also Sittercity, a brilliantly branded web-based company that matches babysitters with families; and Meathead Movers, which uses its employees - mostly college athletes - to distinguish its company from its many competitors; First Global Express is a package delivery company that brands itself as "green."

Gen Y entrepreneurs are also what I call "Workplace Renegades." Typically, they reject traditional, hierarchical workplaces in favor of more participative, flexible, meritocratic corporate cultures. That doesn't mean people don't work hard at their companies; in fact work and life appear to be a kind of 24-7 mash up. They're treating their employees the way they want to be treated: they're training them; they're making the office fun and engaging; they're providing frequent feedback and meaningful incentives. Frankly, I think Gen Y entrepreneurs and employees are giving us all a new definition of work.

Q. What challenges do Gen-Y entrepreneurs encounter and why?
DF: I think fast growth is a challenge for many of them. They have great ideas and they understand technology, but do they understand how to build a company from the ground up? That's not to say that they should follow a traditional corporate playbook - and I hope they don't since that can be a disaster. Nonetheless, you need to know how to hire (and fire!) staff, bring on professional managers (like a COO or a CFO), and understand the key numbers that make your business tick. I think the other looming issue for many GenY entrepreneurs involves business partners.
Many of these companies are started by college friends with common interests. That's terrific and sometimes these companies are lucky enough to be able to move forward with the same team. But as companies grow, their needs change, and if the founders can't accommodate the needs of the company, something has to give and typically someone has to step down. That can be very painful when friends are involved. So I always advise anyone starting a business with a partner to have a strong partnership agreement in writing and to openly discuss what will happen if someone leaves the company.

Q. How will the economic downturn impact existing and future GenY startups?

DF: We've seen increases in business startups during the last two recessions and I think this recession will be no exception. In light of massive corporate layoffs, not to mention decreasing levels of trust in large corporations, I think we may see a record number of startups in the coming months. GenY will lead the way. Because they're young and relatively unburdened by the financial obligations of their parents' generation, they're great at bootstrapping. They don't mind eating Top Ramen and sleeping on a futon at the office. Recession startups are typically bootstrapped startups, and not companies that need significant amounts of investment capital right out of the starting gate. I don't think capital has completely dried up, but it's wildly difficult to get it in the current economic environment.

As for existing GenY companies, they have a remarkable ability to be agile and flexible and to react quickly to market changes. Their expertise with technology allows them to operate leanly and efficiently. That's all critically important when money is tight. But in the final analysis, they're in the same boat as everyone else. They'll need to find creative ways to cut back expenses, create value for their customers, and differentiate themselves in the marketplace. If they can do that while their competitors are going under, they'll be well positioned for success when the economy recovers.

UPSTARTS! How GenY Entrepreneurs Are Rocking the World of Business And 8 Ways You Can Profit From Their Success by Donna Fenn; McGraw-Hill; September, 2009; Hardcover, $25.95; ISBN 978-0-07-160188-7; MHID 0-07-160188-0