Why are there so many young entrepreneurs?

In the last 10 years more and more graduates and students have started their own businesses. This has been made easier by the internet and all the available information. But what makes an entrepreneur so successful and why are these young entrepreneurs starting so early with their own business?

 

Pictures by Vera García

 

“Young entrepreneurs have a strong drive that helps him or her to succeed. They are constantly thinking about innovations and coming up with new ideas and are reinventing themselves”

 

What makes an entrepreneur?

 

There are many qualities that make an entrepreneur successful but something that they all poses is that they have an inner drive. An entrepreneur has a strong drive that helps him or her to succeed. They are constantly thinking about innovations and coming up with new ideas and are reinventing themselves. An entrepreneur is not afraid to work hard but embraces it and get satisfaction out of it. They are focused on the tasks at hand, and they are not afraid to fail and when they fail, they come back stronger.

 

Where are the young entrepreneurs coming from?

 

The digital age plays a big factor in why there are many young entrepreneurs in the last 10 years. Anyone can access the internet and gain information on what topic or product they want. They can learn from other entrepreneurs and learn from their mistakes and apply this on their business. The internet is a perfect place to start a business and this generation knows how powerful social media is. They can promote their business with many different platforms and get attention from their target groups. Even at schools they are starting to teach entrepreneurship and make the students ready for starting their own businesses.

 

“The internet is a perfect place to start a business and this generation knows how powerful social media is”

 

For example, in International Business study they have modules that are based around entrepreneurship. In the past it was always seen as a risk to start a business for yourself and of course there are still financial risks. They get informed about the risks and rewards that being an entrepreneur will bring.

 

A success story

 

A famous success story is that from the Dutch student Boyan Slat he was an Aerospace Engineering student and he dropped out in 2013. He started his non-profit organization “The Ocean Cleanup” with the goal to combat the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch”. This is the largest accumulation of ocean plastic in the world and is located between California and Hawaii. He created a prototype that catches floating plastic in the ocean in 2013. After years of development, testing and fundraising they have applied this technique and starting to clean up the ocean. The goal of “The Ocean Cleanup” is to reduce 90% of floating plastic in 2040.

 

Perspective of students

 

Beside entrepreneurship being taught more at universities there is also a growth in interest about the environment. Students in the last years have been involved in the environment and want businesses to be sustainable. This creates more businesses that are trying to be sustainable and think about improving the ecosystem.

I believe that stories like the one of Boyan are also a big influence on the growing number of young entrepreneurs. Students see that there are more options than the traditional ways. This changes their view of their future; they don’t necessarily have to start applying for jobs at existing companies. Success stories give motivation and inspire students to start a business. In the eyes of a young entrepreneur businesses are not just companies that generate money without thinking about the environment. They don’t have to be about generating the most amount of revenue. When the young entrepreneurs are launching new businesses, they will also create more green initiatives.

 

My experience in a coworking space in Barcelona

 

For someone that is 23 years old I have had multiple jobs and never worked at an office before. All my jobs were in restaurants or hotels so this is my first office and coworking experience. During the pandemic I had to finish my bachelor thesis at home and did some other work at home. This showed me that it can be difficult to concentrate at home. This is a big positive that I found at CREC. It is a place where you can really focus and get work done. It also helps that you have a place you can come to, and you are immediately locked in and concentrated.

After two weeks Marc already helped me with connecting to a similar company at CREC Coworking Barcelona and I was able to network immediately. I work for an internship agency and the many start-ups that are looking for interns makes the whole Coworking in Barcelona such a great place. I could not recommend it enough and I prefer this over working from home. And I prefer it definitely over working from home out of the Netherlands.