Entrepreneurship and the Gen Next

Entrepreneurship 2.0

This mindset would have been perfectly valid and common only ten years ago. For many, the costs of starting one’s own business, competing with the ‘big boys’ were staggering, not to mention the sheer amount of industry or legal knowledge one would need to obtain to ensure their business lasted past the first few years. But something arose this past decade, something which acted as a game-changer: the Internet Revolution.

It seems quaint to say this now, especially with how comfortable many Gen Nexters are with the Internet. But that’s the point! When one thinks about it, the Internet—and the Information Age it helped foster—has completely democratized almost every aspect of starting a new venture. And for those Gen Nexter’s, currently in their 20s, they’re the first generation to grow up with it, to know how to use it intuitively.

So why pay huge sums of money to market one’s product or service on television or in newspapers, when one can do so for free (or next to free) online (e.g. Ebay or SparkFun) and in a much more targeted way?
Why shell out thousands in consultancy costs, when one can access reams of industry, legal, regulatory, pricing, logistical information, etc, for free online.

[pullquote]Why shell out thousands in consultancy costs, when one can access reams of industry, legal, regulatory, pricing, logistical information, etc, for free online.[/pullquote]

Why invest millions of dollars in owning manufacturing plants, warehouses, shipping fleets, etc, when one can organize online the outsourcing of a product’s complete production to foreign countries like China (e.g. Alibaba.com: business-to-business marketplace), have it stored in a nearby warehousing company, accept payments for products online (e.g. paypal.com), then deliver one’s products anywhere in the world (e.g. government or premium mail carriers)?

Even for those archetypal, DIY garage inventors, they can now download free design tools like Blender or Google’s SketchUp to create 3D renderings of their product, then purchase online the manufacturing equipment (which have fallen in price from the hundred thousands to a few thousand, e.g. MakerBot) they would need to build their products at home or in their rented space.

The latter is the approach Moshe is currently taking with his new venture, Up Entertainment. Started over a year ago, Moshe invented a new television screen system for condo elevators that will show video and advertisements to riders, but do so wirelessly instead of using long bundles of cable, which is the industry standard.

He programmed the software himself and, with a business partner, constructed a several prototypes of the screens, which were later installed (as a trial run) in a number of smaller GTA condos. With their success, Moshe has already contacted a Chinese manufacturing company to produce more of these elevator screens at much lower costs. If all goes well, he plans to soon shift his business into full operation, installing custom screens in condo elevators throughout the GTA.

In all, never before has it cost so little or been so easy to not only start one’s own business, but make it survive and even grow globally. The only thing stopping most from doing so is the willingness to take risks and invest their time to pursue those opportunities they see in front of them.

For Moshe, there’s one thing he would tell a young counterpart interested in trying entrepreneurship, “(It’s) a lifestyle, not just a career. So what do you have to improve most? Yourself. I am constantly trying to develop myself, looking for what I’m good at and what are my weaknesses and trying to improve on them.
“There is no stop. You can always be better, always continue, always improve, always explore other opportunities. It’s like a never ending marathon.”

ARB Team
Arbitrage Magazine
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