The Startup Spouses

My husband and I are attempting to start our own business just as we are about to hit the big 3-0. So as a late-twenty something in a decade that has seen many entrepreneurs in their teens and early twenties, I feel almost ancient as I begin. I question the value of working in more traditional environments in my twenties, and wonder if the learning experiences provide a long-term competitive edge against the younger entrepreneur, or if I’ve just essentially lost time. With that question as the starting point, I set out to compare the Gen X vs the Gen Y entrepreneur.

As I began researching, this became harder than expected. A big reason is that according to some sources, I technically belong to Gen Y. The boundaries between Gen X and Gen Y are pretty hazy and the starting point ranges from 1976 to 1981. As someone who was born in 1979, I could be in the midst of a major identity crisis right now. But I know who I am. I love Winona Ryder and Jon Cusack movies; I was 12 when Nevermind was released; I wore flannel as a pre-teen; I was pretty apathetic and angsty throughout high school and college; I had a computer when I was five, but I didn’t use email until my study abroad in college. I identify with the Gen X set.

These Gen Yers, or Millennials, get a lot of media attention, and rightfully so. It seems everyday another 19 year old drops out of college after getting millions in VC. With all the creativity and technology acumen, do these Gen Y entrepreneurs have staying power? The experts characterize the Gen Y entrepreneur as:

• The entrepreneurial generation
• Value work/life balance
• Disenchanted with corporate model
• Enjoy taking risks (who doesn’t under 30?)
• Able to leverage technology (they are, afterall, digital natives.)
• Good at teamwork and collaboration
• Want to make a contribution
• Relentlessly optimistic
• Non-stop experimenters
• Confidence, independence, enthusiasm, and impatience

OK, not looking good for Gen Xers. I mean, we’re known for being grungy slackers, for being disloyal and lazy, and worse, apathetic. So what do the experts say about Gen X entrepreneurs? While there are fewer search results, the findings are interesting. Guess what an author said about Gen X in 1998:

• Gen X considered the most entrepreneurial generation
• Disenchanted because of broken homes, downsizing
• Value work/life balance
• Able to leverage technology
• Legacy will be individualism and entrepreneurship
• More collaborative and comfortable with teamwork
• Less hierarchical, wants to be involved in decision-making process
• Self-reliant, candid, rule-shy

Huh. So, besides the cynical vs. optimistic outlook and the tremendous size of Gen Y versus the smaller numbers of Gen Xers, there is virtually no difference between us. Really. So my “faceoff” might be for not? Meredith Bagby said of Gen X, “Whether we like it or not, we’re sort of a transitional generation. We grew up with computers, but we still grew up in a traditional world. What’s interesting about Generation Y is they not only have computers but they also have the Internet. And those who’ve been really immersed in that technology have a completely different way of thinking - it’s more chaotic and random.”

Ok. I’ll take transitional generation, as long as we’re clear that “transitional” means that Gen Y has been riding our coattails, following on the trail that we blazed, except with the addition of their gushing optimism and care for social change. So how does the Gen X collision of technology and tradition stand against the digital natives? Part II talks about tradition, experience, and chaos – should you learn the rules of the game before you break them, or write your own rule book?