Upstarts!: How GenY Entrepreneurs are Rocking the World of Business and 8 Ways You Can Profit from Their Success [Hardcover]

Donna Fenn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 18, 2009

They’re young, they’re brash, they’re smart—and they’re 77-million strong.

Generation Y is creating startups at an unprecedented rate, and their approach to business is unlike anything you’ve seen. The generation described by the media as spoiled, entitled, even narcissistic, is proving these notions false every day. Inspired by the rock-star entrepreneurs of previous generations and driven by a burning desire to control their own destinies, GenY is rewriting the entrepreneurial playbook one cool startup at a time.

Inc. magazine writer Donna Fenn interviewed more than 150 young CEOs to learn what makes them tick. While upstarts are motivated by similar aspirations of past generations, their way of doing business is radically different—and it’s changing the way everyone must do business now.

Upstarts examines and analyzes this entrepreneurial revolution to reveal eight critical lessons every entrepreneur and marketer must learn. Fenn describes a generation of entrepreneurs that is highly collaborative and team-oriented. It’s quick and alert when it comes to new technologies. It’s hell-bent on changing the world. And it’s totally impatient with outmoded business models.

The sooner you adapt to the new way of business, the greater chance you have to grow and profit in the years ahead. Upstarts provides key insight into:

• Building collaborative tribes
• Deploying technology to your competitive advantage
• Disrupting the status quo
• Deconstructing the GenY market
• Generating branding buzz
• Adopting a social mission
• Inventing the workplace of the future
• Reinventing your company

Misreading GenY companies could be the biggest business mistake you ever make. This forward-looking book serves both as a headsup to the far-reaching changes coming your way and as a detailed guide to meeting the resulting challenges.

The upstarts are here to stay. Are you?

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

8 CRITICAL BUSINESS LESSONS FROM THE NEW ENTREPRENEURS

“One of the richest veins in startup gold is GenY entrepreneurs. Fenn deconstructs the DNA of this collaborative, tech-savvy generation to illuminate the future of entrepreneurship.”
Guy Kawasaki, cofounder, Alltop, and author of Reality Check

“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

“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 startup company at a time.”
Jane Berentson, editor, Inc. magazine

“This book will make you feel confident. Confident in the fact that 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 of FISH! and Instant Turnaround!

“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.”
Dan Schawbel, author of Me 2.0

About the Author

Donna Fenn is the author of Upstarts: How GenY Entrepreneurs are Rocking the World of Business and Alpha Dogs: How Your Small Business Can Become a Leader of the Pack. She is a contributing writer and blogger at Inc. magazine, where she is responsible for managing the 30 Under 30 Coolest Young Entrepreneurs feature. An expert on small business trends and entrepreneurship for more than 20 years, she is also a blogger on BNet/CBSi, a columnist on Lifetuner.org, and the co-founder of YEC Mentors.  She lives in Pelham, NY, with her husband, Guian Heintzen, and is the proud mom of two GenYers. For more information, go to UpstartsRock.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (August 18, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071601880
• ISBN-13: 978-0071601887
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 0.9 x 9.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #504,411 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Donna Fenn is the author of Upstarts: How GenY Entrepreneurs are Rocking the World of Business and 8 Ways You Can Profit From Their Success (McGraw-Hill, Sept. 2009). Upstarts deconstructs the DNA of a new generation of young entrepreneurs, analyzes their success strategies, and provides a important glimpse into the entrepreneurial landscape of the future. Fenn also wrote Alpha Dogs: How Your Small Business Can Become A Leader of the Pack. Alpha Dogs profiles eight extraordinarily successful small companies in very ordinary industries-- a bike shop, an auction company, a chain of ice cream parlors, a sock manufacturer, a grocery store, a commercial bakery, a motorcycle dealership, and an alliance of public relations firms - to illustrate how business success isn't necessarily about what you do but how you do it.

Fenn has more than twenty years experience writing about entrepreneurship and small business trends. She is a contributing editor at Inc. magazine, a community leader at Work.com, a featured expert on SBTV.com, and a blogger on Inc.com. Her work has appeared in Inc., The New York Times, Newsweek, The Associated Press, The Washington Monthly, Working Woman, Working Mother, Family Money, CFO, Corporate Finance, Pink, Parents, and New England Monthly.

In 2001, Fenn was a co-recipient of the Women's Economic Round Table Entrepreneurship Prize, sponsored by the Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership. From 1988 to 1992, she lived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where she was a correspondent for The Associated Press and covered a variety of issues including business, culture, the economy and the Gulf War. She now lives in Pelham, NY with her husband and three dogs. She is also the proud mom of two GenYers - a junior at Tulane University and a freshman at Cornell University.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful playbook for GenY entrepreneurs December 21, 2009

By Tony Deblauwe VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Living and working in Silicon Valley: the land of VC 's and start-ups, I was intrigued to read this book. Fenn begins by describing GenY entrepreneurs as builders of "the new lemonade stand." How true that is about the GenY revolution and their impact and influence on modern business practices. With a population size of roughly 80 million, a predisposition to all things technology and little start-up capital required to produce results, it's fair to say we all need to pay attention to how they think and operate.

Fenn opens up the dialogue with how cultural norms within this group fuel their passion and direction such as brand, social justice, and the need to work on their terms - a philosophy born out of seeing their parents get wiped out from corporate downsizing. They see a servant-leader model focused on collaboration that strives to share the wealth with all. To that end they don't view weekends and long hours as work - but an extension of themselves and their passions - the very fuel that most entrepreneurs need to be successful.

In terms of modeling, Upstarts shows the basic formula for the Millennial world view. They grew up understanding team activities so they collaborate easily. College is the incubator where they meet like-minded spirits. Throw in a dose of mentoring and encouragement their creativity flows. Soon corporations (often in the form of strategic partnerships or community outreach) get involved and fund their innovations.

Leveraging technology is key as well. No surprise as Fenn points out; Millennial entrepreneurs are accustomed to an imperfect business launch via the web, coupled with social networking chatter and buzz. Soon a community platform is built that praises (and buys) the product or service idea. It doesn't take long for this simple business plan to leapfrog into game changers or new rules of engagement. This mentality allows the GenY entrepreneur to adapt quickly to changing customer needs, uncover underserved niches, and professionalize old-economy businesses.

Acting fast on trends or rapid re-design isn't the only key differentiators for GenY entrepreneurs. Fenn describes the role this group plays in corporations and what to do about managing this talent pool. Fenn outlines key strategies such as flexibility, continuous learning, frequent feedback, open spaces, and increasing the frequency of web-based tools to keep communication flowing and dynamic.

Fenn interviewed 150 young CEOs for the data behind the conceptual and practical guidance she offers in Upstarts. The result is a rich text that gives you background, real world examples, and playlists that condense the essential learning points into digestible information chunks. The book also contains an appendix full of stats from her survey and advice from experts which is very insightful in itself.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "disrupting the status quo" January 31, 2010

By Frank V. Carone

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

As an Entrepreneur, Upstarts is a great resource which proves that the creative force is alive and well. You can't help but feel energized while reading story after story of those who had the courage and desire to create or improve on what was already created. The following line best sums up the book for me: "why am I breaking my back on something that's not exciting to me." (page 84)It is that sentiment that resonates throughout the book while Donna Fenn describes each GenY Entrepreneur and how he or she has "rocked" the status quo. The book is written in a very readable style and thoroughly enjoyable.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book from a "Y Generation" Entrepreneur July 15, 2010

By Raad Mobrem

Format:Hardcover

After meeting Donna Fenn, I had to read her book Upstarts and I am glad I did. I had started my business Dura Doggie and it was essential for me to keep up on my business readings. It was not the typical "10 steps to success" type of read, but instead a boiling pot of stories and cases done on already successful Gen Y companies. An easy read filled with tactics, and lessons that will most certainly help your business grow. As the saying goes, "Two Thumbs Up"...well I give it four.

Well done!!