At the Junior Achievement Free Enterprise Center in Greenwood Village, Colorado, high school students can explore career opportunities and develop a plan to pursue their goals. The center aims to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurship is a common goal for young people.
More than half (54%) of Gen Z adults say they would be happier if they owned their own business than if they had a regular job, according to a new workforce survey from CNBC and SurveyMonkey. The survey polled 5,993 working adults in the U.S. in early April – including 770 Gen Z respondents ages 27 and younger.
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“There's a recipe for finding the path that gives you meaning,” says Robin Wise, president and CEO of Junior Achievement Rocky Mountain. “You have to see others doing things that you want to do. You have to know yourself.”
In partnership with Junior Achievement, CNBC brought together business leaders from the Denver area to talk to students about their journey to starting a business. Here are five key pieces of advice they shared with us:
“Accept what makes you different from others”
Mowe Haile, founder of Sky Blue Builders, Darian Simon, co-founder of Be a Good Person, and Robin Thurston, founder and CEO of Outside Interactive, Inc., talk to students about entrepreneurship.
Caitlin Steuben |
Darian Simon co-founded the clothing company Be a Good Person in 2015 to promote positivity. He advises young people to “embrace what makes them different from others.”
Simon was diagnosed with autism and ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) at age 28. Now 30, he says he rejects the “disorder” part of the diagnosis and considers it his superpower.
“My greatest strength is my neurodivergence because I have less inhibitory space in my brain and therefore I can develop ideas better,” he said. “So the box doesn't really exist in the same way.”
Value adaptability
Robin Thurston sold his digital fitness technology startup to Under Armour for $150 million in 2013. He recently founded Outside Interactive, a network of media brands in the areas of endurance sports, outdoors and healthy living.
He compares starting a business to a difficult hike and advises keeping that analogy in mind as you embark on the journey: You have to embrace the unknown, recognize that things probably won't go according to plan, and fight through inevitable difficulties, he said.
“That's what great entrepreneurs do,” Thurston said. “They are resilient and overcome these challenges.”
Recognizing challenges as opportunities
Camila Uzcategui co-founded Vitro3D, a company that uses 3D printing-like technology in modern manufacturing spaces, in 2020. She said her background in physics and interest in experimenting with technology taught her the value of failure.
“I like to see all of these challenges as opportunities to either potentially take a new direction or find a better way to understand something,” Uzcategui said.
Expect top performance from your team
Mowa Haile founded construction company Sky Blue Builders during the Great Recession in 2009. He said it's important to surround yourself with people who share your passion – and to always expect excellence from them.
“If you are an entrepreneur and you have a team, your job is to coach, lead and encourage them,” he said.
Surround yourself with the right people
In 2000, after a career in social work, Lara Merriken founded Larabar, a company that makes vegan, gluten-free, plant-based bars.
“A lot of people were literally naysayers,” she recalls. “They just thought: Why would you do this? Why would you enter a category that's oversaturated?”
She said identifying and working with trusted confidants who were supportive and encouraging was critical to the company's success. She sold Larabar to General Mills in 2008 for about $55 million.
Another recipe for success is learning from the stories of other entrepreneurs, said Merriken. “Even though we have our companies, we need inspiration every day.”
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