Hi everyone,

Welcome back to the bi-weekly GENESIS newsletter👋

In today’s edition…

• 🛠️ GenZ is the entrepreneur generation

• ⏪ Recap

• 📅 Upcoming Events

• ✨ Community Spotlight

🛠️ GenZ is the entrepreneur generation

62% of GenZ’s have started, or intend to start, their own business.

That’s a crazy number. No previous generation has reached this level of interest in starting a business. Here are some reasons why that might be:

👉 flexibility is our top priority. An adobe study showed 61% of GenZ's would switch jobs within 1yr to have more control over their schedule. Even if it means a cut in pay. Remember, a lot of us entered the workforce during the pandemic, giving us a very different baseline of what a "normal" job is.

👉 we're just starting out in life, and can take more risks. The fact that we have nothing to lose makes us very dangerous. Like that rogue spy in the movies.

👉 we grew up with social media, showing us alternative paths. Yes, entrepreneurship is often over-romanticized online, but it still inspires young people.

69% of GenZers have learned about #entrepreneurship through "videos or self-directed research." <-- according to a ZenBusiness study

👉 it's easier to start a business now than ever. Stripe, webflow, slack, mercury, etc. Everything you need is at your fingertips.

👉 communities like GENESIS are popping up around the world, helping young entrepreneurs find each other and grow stronger together.

👉 the ROI equation on college #education in the US has flipped. Interestingly, I think one of the big drivers of entrepreneurship and the US economy is the cost of going to school. GenZers are FORCED to work gigs alongside their study, or start a business, just to pay off tuition.

Our generation sees the great challenges facing the world, and we're realizing that "normal jobs" won't solve them. So time to get building... fyi, if you're starting a business as a #GenZ, join our newsletter --> https://lnkd.in/dC3v6S-7

⏪Recap

📅Upcoming Events

Chill coworking today at Drive starting at noon! —> 215 N Peoria St 8th Flr

Our weekly dinners continue… if you want to join one, drop an application on our luma, we’ll try out best to slot you in!

And GENESIS goes on tour….

We’re headed to SF for TC Disrupt from 9/18-9/23, then Cleveland for the 30u30 summit from 10/8-10/11, then NYC for NYC Tech Week from 10/16-10/22! If you’re in those cities during those times, let us know. We’ll be hosting daily dinners, fun things to explore the city, and hitting all the major events.

✨Community Spotlight

This is Serenah Quiroga - a recent Lake Forest College grad livin it up in the Chicagoland area, also a fashion designer, creative soul, and host of the new MERAKI podcast🎙️

MERAKI in Greek means “Doing something with a sense of PRIDE and CARE” - and that’s what the pod is all about. Serenah just released episode 2 with Chantelle Houareau, founder of REAU Studio, and will continue interviewing young changemakers in Chicago and across the country.

She’s always on the hunt for more GenZ entrepreneurs to interview, and there’s no better place to look than GENESIS…

➡️ Check out MERAKI here

Thank you for reading this edition of the GENESIS newsletter! See you in two weeks🙏