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The new face of 2020’s Entrepreneurs are in Greenwich

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By: Jennifer Openshaw & Laura Davis

Innovative, determined, creative, passionate, visionary, agile…. These are just some of the traits that are commonly associated with entrepreneurs.

It’s no wonder then that so many of today’s public and private organizations – many right here in Greenwich and surrounding areas — are turning their attention to fostering entrepreneurship skills and an entrepreneurial spirit in the workforce and talent pool. No longer are these skills reserved only for ‘business owners’ – including the owners of this very newspaper — they are vital to every organization’s success, and the reason we need to focus on developing them as early as possible in future generations, starting right here at home.

In the recent past, Jeff Bezos or Mark Zuckerberg might codify the classic entrepreneur, building a business out of a garage or dorm room. Each rolled up their sleeves, took on financial risks and brought people alongside them to ultimately see their ideas flourish. But it’s misleading to think only a certain kind of inventor possess the characteristics required to create new businesses from their ideas.

Today, we find that there is no “typical” entrepreneur – there are 114 percent more women entrepreneurs than there were 20 years ago, about 41 percent of Generation Z (born after 1995) plan to become entrepreneurs, and “intrapreneurship” is becoming a new wave in Corporate America. Even our schools – like Greenwich High – are beginning to incorporate innovation.

Just as our young people are learning things earlier, so too are they developing an entrepreneurial mindset earlier. In fact, the Girls With Impact report – What’s Inside the Minds of GenZ? — finds that 60% of GenZ wants to personally drive innovation. These young men and women are eager to run their own companies and drive their destiny, with nearly half saying they want to be an entrepreneur.

Over the last three years, nearly 500 teen girls – many from Greenwich – have been putting that desire into practice, learning how to develop a business plan and launch a venture. Not only are these GenZ women tackling such issues as voting, recycling, and Alzheimer’s, they’re getting a leg-up for college. In fact, Greenwich High graduate Jody Bell, now 18 and attending the College of Charleston, won a scholarship that was the result of her entrepreneurial experience and the launch of her venture.

“The business experience totally changed my future,” she said on a recent visit home. “And it made my college costs affordable.” Jody is thriving, diving into the start-up community thanks to her Greenwich exoerience and ready to start her second venture.

Dig deeper, and you’ll find that there are entrepreneurs in every company – many of whom live or work here who are turning ideas or customer needs into new markets or new solutions. It’s the business leader who gets the team to work together more cohesively and produces more sales as a result, or the millennial who, after hearing from a struggling client, develops a solution that becomes a core offer for the business. It’s a diversity leader hired to help a CEO build a workforce that has gender parity at the top echelons of a company. It’s the lawyer trying to solve a problem for his multi-national client or new start-up.

Our economy in Greenwich and throughout our state needs entrepreneurs of all stripes and in all industries. We need it to solve complex problems facing the world today and to stay competitive in a global economy that is increasingly embracing and investing in entrepreneurship. We need the entrepreneurial mindset to collaborate effectively with others, and operate with agility.

If you’re interested in synergizing entrepreneurship here in Greenwich, consider getting involved and helping to develop the next generation’s entrepreneurial mindset early-on. Participating in mentorship, one could coach the next generation in the most valuable qualities they can pass on – passion, skills and self-starting. The younger generations can also absorb these entrepreneurial traits through observation or family conversations around the dinner table as they grow up. In many families, they are now consciously talking about transferring these values.

It’s incumbent upon all of us in the business community to ensure that entrepreneurship continues to grow in our region. Entrepreneurs are perpetually at the leading edge of the economy, generating half of all private sector jobs, payroll, and output – and beyond the pragmatic benefits, entrepreneurship is the mindset needed to nurture our talent. It’s what will drive innovation and serve society’s crucial needs.

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