Gen E: the X appeal of being an Entrepreneur

by Catherine M. Hedgeman

I “Live” New York. That is what the audience at the “I ‘Live’ New York” summit hosted by New York’s First Lady, Silda Spitzer were chanting. Hundreds of young professionals, government officials, business and community leaders, and representatives from higher education attended the first ever “I ‘Live’ New York Summit where they discussed New York’s problem with attracting and retaining talent. Having taken the plunge to become an entrepreneur myself, I was particularly interested in the Keynote speaker Martin Babinec founder of TriNet, who spoke about Entrepreneurship and job opportunity. The topic was extremely timely as many of my Gen X and Y friends have either started their own business or intend to. For Generation X creating your own business has become a calling, a vocation, even a mission. As such, Generation X is changing the business world as we now know it as they create their own workplace. Creating a new workplace will bring with it a new set of workplace issues to resolve.

Generation X also known as the “latchkey” kids, often left alone by two working parents, saw their parents get downsized, and thus do not readily trust the corporate model to sustain them or provide a pension. In the age of telecommuting Gen Xers often draw no line between work and personal time as they seek flexibility and balance in their lives. Despite the burning desire to be entrepreneurs, New York is infused with far less angel investing and venture capital then Silicon Valley. Furthermore, New York Gen X and Y entrepreneurs will find it difficult to connect with angel investors or venture capitalists simply because the entrepreneur may not know where to look. Connecting the Gen X Entrepreneur with investors will be crucial not only in retaining talent in New York, but is critical if New York is to attract new talent and business.

Lack of funding is a huge barrier to success for many Gen X and Y Entrepreneurs. At times, your start-up is so small that a Small Business Administration Loan or a loan from a bank is not an option due to lack of substantial revenue or individual creditworthiness. Fortunately there are other programs available that offer smaller amounts of seed money for a small start-up, such as micro enterprise or community loans. You might also want to consider finding another small business owner and trade services to help each other grow. More importantly though, New York Xers and Y’s should put their collective entrepreneurial minds together and design a program to attract new capital to New York and for connecting young entrepreneurs with potential investors. Perhaps a conference for young entrepreneurs and potential investors that would serve to connect the two, followed by the creation of a web portal which would serve the same purpose. Perhaps young professionals should ban together and volunteer their time and services to assist young entrepreneurs in setting up the legal structure, financing, and marketing plan in an incubator setting. These types of initiatives would surely attract and retain a new Generation E. Generation Excelsior.