Las Vegas Business Press : Generation Y

Generation Y

Young entrepreneurs offer fresh approach to business, capitalize on youth and technology

BY BEN TINSLEY

Call them Generation Y. Generation Why. Generation Next. Echo Boomers. The Internet Generation.

Whatever you call them, a survey by the Deloitte consulting group, suggests they're positioned to be the next hero generation.

They're the children of baby boomers and the younger siblings of Gen Xers. Generation Y members range in age between 18 and 31. Their population is about 75 million, U.S. Census Bureau statistics show. They're the largest group of babies since the baby boomers weighed in at 80 million strong, larger than Gen X's 40 million.

They're savvy with technology. Constantly online. Optimistic, self-reliant, determined, and success-driven. Many grew up in a hyperscheduled world, in which each hour of their days were planned for them.

Generation Y, especially in Las Vegas, is entrepreneurial -- designing swimwear, selling homes and mortgages, developing new foods and technologies, diversifying.

This is good, observers say, because with the changing marketplace, Gen Y's ability to make a living in coming years will connect directly to its members' number of marketable skills.

Las Vegas entrepreneur Brittany Karlen, 22, said her generation is "interconnected," not only by technology -- Internet, cell phone and personal digital assistants -- but by traumatic events such as the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the shootings at Columbine High School in 1999 and Virginia Tech University in 2007. Karlen markets a device called the Original Ozonator that purifies the insides of refrigerators with ozone and prevents vegetables from decaying.

All of these connections drive Gen Yers to take comfort in meeting new people, which is a natural lead-in to being an entrepreneur, Karlen said.

"We seek stability through trust," she said in an e-mail interview. "To create that trust we must establish a constant flow of communication. The bottom line is that we want to know how we can improve when things aren't going well, but most of all we like to be praised when they are."

Robert Jenson, 30, the founder, owner and operator and principal agent of real estate firm The Jenson Group, said Las Vegas Gen Yers use their peer group's drive and ambition to create ventures of lasting value.

"Las Vegas is all about offering the newest and best that there is, which is an attractive prospect for aspiring, highly motivated entrepreneurs who seek whatever 'edge' they can find over the competition," Jenson said. "Gen Y is keenly able to anticipate and deliver what consumers are looking for, and Las Vegas is the perfect international stage from which to deliver it."

Juliana Renz, 30, designer and partner of Le Doux Swimwear, said variety and change are the norm for Generation Y; being highly adaptable to change and capable of processing information quickly is a way of life.

Renz spends much of her time in Las Vegas, although her swimwear is produced in Brazil and distributed in California.

"Gen Y are forward thinkers and their life is about how quickly they can react, adjust, and adapt to what's ahead," Renz said. "Las Vegas is an ever-changing city. It would only make sense that Gen Y is becoming the business forefront of a city that competes to be bigger, better and more extravagant every day."

Many Gen Yers surely have their eye on the business ball, but some observers wonder whether they're too focused on their careers.

A recent survey of over 1,000 Gen Yers by Robert Half International and Yahoo HotJob showed members are willing to live with their parents while job-shopping or move around a lot and put off marriage and starting families to get the career they desire.

Why? Observers say many Gen Y members aren't willing to invest their loyalty in their employers because they have seen their own parents laid off after years of faithful service. This generation wants to move up the chain and move up fast, the study shows.

Alex Simon, president of the Kids Talent Network, falls just out of the Gen Y category at age 35. But he's been studying Gen Yers long enough to have ideas about them.

"Gen Y's sense of self-worth -- which sometimes borders arrogance -- is in my opinion the catalyst for their success," Simon said. "In today's world of Facebook, MySpace and Google, which produced young billionaires, this younger generation believes that they too can have it all -- and fast."

Steve Beatty, a business owner in his 40s who has watched a lot of Generation Y in action in business, said the group benefits because of its age. But, Beatty, the founder and President of InVEST Financial Solutions for Business in Las Vegas, added that youth can be a drawback.

"The challenge is a lot of this group seems to think they know it all," Beatty said. "This comes with youth at times. But thinking one has a corner on knowledge can be a downfall. The more I know now, the more I know I don't know. I don't think the Gen Y crowd is ready to embrace that concept and seems to think that they have it all figured out when it comes to business."

Eami Balisi, 23, credits his success not to arrogance, but to hard work and good timing. He moved to Las Vegas from San Francisco three years ago and started a career in the mortgage industry. He went from working three part-time jobs in San Francisco to generating business in his new industry.

"Even through the mortgage meltdown in the Las Vegas Valley, I have been able to survive through the hard times and have a steady amount of clients," Balisi said. "I have been fortunate to network with Latino realtors since there is a demand for honest mortgage consultants in that community."

Many prominent Gen Yers find themselves drawn to Las Vegas. Entertainer Jake Sasseville, 22, for instance, doesn't live in Las Vegas, but he is coming here soon to serve on a panel for the National Association of Television Program Executives later this month. He will be here to discuss his success story creating a fan base using blogging, webcams and YouTube.

His antics -- such as nude modeling and getting knocked out while boxing with women -- have captured the attention of investors and advertisers. On ABC on Feb. 14 he will host a new late-late show called "The Edge with Jake Sasseville."

Local Gen Y entrepreneur John Rice, who owns information technology company Rice Technology Solutions, said his generation grew up with technology.

"I feel that the age factor has actually been a blessing," Rice said. "In most circumstances age equals experience. I believe this is due to the factor people within the Gen Y bracket not only helped to pioneer many of the recent technology developments but we were also raised on the precursors of today's technology. A great example of this was my first computer system, which I received when I was 9 or 10 years old. (It) was a Commodore 64 system that ran the BASIC language."

Beatty said a challenge for Gen Y businesspeople is finding business frontiers to explore and conquer.

"The generation of business owners before me and my generation have strong businesses that are entrenched in the markets they are in," he said. "Where are new areas of need? How can they take advantage of the continuing population growth? How can technology make them lean and mean and creating new business opportunities that didn't exist previously?"

Joe Schillaci, chairman of local independent angel investing organization the Vegas Valley Angels, said many Gen Y entrepreneurs have great ideas for new businesses but often lack experience accessing capital markets and know-how in finance, operations and marketing.

However, he added, those shortcomings can be overcome.

"As the economy of Las Vegas continues to diversify, there will continue to be tremendous opportunities for Gen Y entrepreneurs who have unique ideas and vision to create new business opportunities, products and services," Schillaci said.

btinsley@lvbusinesspress.com

387-5290

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