Recent data from Innovate UK points to a 98% increase in 18-30-year-old founders launching a business from 2009 to 2020. Furthermore, this year’s Rose Review revealed that the 18-25-year-old age group is the fastest-growing group of female business founders. This suggests that young entrepreneurs are dominating new company launches. In particular, companies with a Zillennial founder combine a fresh perspective on leadership with experience in the business world.

Born between 1993 to 1998, Zillennials fit neither the Gen Z nor Millennial generation and have some experience within the working world before they launch their own business. The 25-year-old CEO and Co-founder of Slip, Tash Grossman, launched the business aged 24 and is one of the many examples of the rising numbers of ZEOs. As the company scales and makes new hires, Slip explores some of the benefits of the growing number of Zillennial CEOs.

Retaining Gen Z and Millennial talent 

Job turnover is at a high with 40% of Gen Zs and 24% of Millennials admitting they would leave their jobs in the next two years, many without having another job lined up. Factors that are offered as driving workers to take on new jobs include pay, ethics, flexibility and diversity within the workplace.

With a mission to hire more women in STEM, the Slip Co-founders approached female engineers about prospective job opportunities last year. The outreach resulted in female Co-founder Tash Grossman receiving a 60% response rate while the male Co-founder received no responses, suggesting that women in STEM roles are attracted to working with innovative companies run by diverse individuals. As ZEOs often share similar views and a more closely aligned business outlook to younger applicants, this indicates they can cater for this dominant demographic in the job market.

The rise of technology and social media

Recent data has found that the tech industry has the highest number of millennial billionaires globally, suggesting it remains one of the most popular sectors for emerging Zillennial CEOs. As a tech startup, Slip was founded by under 30-year-olds Tash Grossman and Eddy Herman who identified a need for a more efficient and sustainable retail experience that leveraged QR code technology.

Rapid advancements and growth in technology have been seen firsthand by Gen Z and Millennials, making it almost second nature to these generations who can use the latest technologies effectively to contribute to great business success.

Corporate Social Responsibilities

With Zillennials taking more of an interest in current affairs and ethical matters many ZEOs are building businesses based on a gap in the market to meet these issues. Slip, a mobile app utilising QR code scanning to digitise receipts was founded to not only make the shopping journey more streamlined for consumers but also to reduce the mass amounts of paper waste generated by paper receipts.

Unique perspectives on issues regarding climate change, mental health and diversity are driving factors for many business models built by young CEOs. In turn, this approach is making these businesses more successful in fulfilling the needs of their Gen Z and Millennial consumers who have a growing interest in using ethical businesses to make changes in their daily lives. Furthermore, the companies are attracting talented Gen Zs and Millennials who want to work for companies that are supporting a more ethical and sustainable world.

Tash Grossman, CEO & Co-founder of Slip shared her insight: “When founding Slip the idea that you could purchase something with your watch yet after purchasing were still faced with an outdated receipt system was something that I found shocking and something I knew I had to take action to change. I think the desire to make a change is a prevalent feeling amongst Gen Z and Millenial CEOs, making some of these businesses so successful.

"As an age group, we have a wider understanding of communities and issues affecting our peers on a global scale, partially due to the rise of social media. I believe this is something that is spearheading the rise of younger founders and over the coming years I’m excited to see how this trend will evolve and continue to shape the workplace.”