Essential Similarities and Obvious Differences Between Young and Old Entrepreneurs

Although generational ‘battles’ have always existed, stories about the fight between older generations and younger ones in the business world have become increasingly loud in recent years. From approaches to business, demands and expectations, relationships with employees, to approaches to entrepreneurship. It seems that there is a constant analysis of whether it is better to win the game with experience or youthful strength. Who had it easier, and who had it harder? What path did entrepreneurs have in the past, and what do they have today?

And yes, certain differences certainly exist because circumstances, technology, and the world have changed… So even though this is not, nor should it be a competition, what are the differences between those entering entrepreneurship today and those who took that step 20-30 years ago? And perhaps more importantly, why is it important at the end of the day that, despite the differences, an entrepreneur is still an entrepreneur!

Without a Plan and Profit

As a defiance to all those who believe that having a plan in life, and in business, is the most important, some entrepreneurs have proven that sometimes it is better to do than to plan. Even though they started without business plans, many experienced entrepreneurs can boast successful businesses. The owner of Šmit Electronic, Stjepan Šmit, is one of them. He started his business in 1994, and as he says, when he started, he had never even heard of a business plan, let alone had one.

– Alongside developing and selling applications, I started selling computers and equipment, servicing, and setting up networks. Then the business expanded into consumer electronics, and then I opened a store – he briefly recounted his unplanned typical start for that time.

And Ante Vrban, the owner and director of the company Architect Ante Vrban, who describes his entrepreneurial start as ‘like in a movie’ because he opened his first company at 18 while still a student, also started without a business plan, and like others, he did not think about profit at the beginning; he just wanted to work.

Many years later, but not much differently, young entrepreneur Goran Vrabec, owner of the company Volim ljuto, started his business without a business plan for the first few years, just to ‘see what would come of it.’ And that very sentence is what distinguishes him from his older entrepreneurial colleagues. Namely, he developed the business from a hobby, which was completely opposite to the programming profession he was educated in.

– The beginning did not look like entrepreneurship at all. The whole story started because I wanted to try exotic chili peppers that were not available in Croatia and make sauces for personal use and eventually as gifts for friends. In the end, it turned out that everyone was thrilled with the sauces, and that’s where the idea slowly began to form that I could do this as an additional job – explained Vrabec, adding that since he was working another job to make a living in the beginning, the financial aspect was not a priority at that time.

Turning a Hobby into a Business

Tea Kravaršćan, an entrepreneur behind the brand Tramonto Swimwear, has a similar story. She embarked on her entrepreneurial venture because she ‘wanted to see if there was interest in our market for swimsuits and decided to try.’

– I entered this whole story with a cool head; at no point did I think about money and whether it would all pay off. I simply enjoyed the whole process of making swimsuits, coming up with content for social media, receiving positive feedback from my first customers, and so on – emphasizes Kravaršćan.

In a completely different industry, but with a similar point, in a recent conversation on Jay Shetty’s podcast, actor Tom Holland, who became famous for his role as Peter Parker in Marvel’s ‘Spider-Man’, explained that he never planned to have an acting career either. He started acting as a hobby and at one point tried to make a living from that hobby.

Strange, isn’t it? How can someone so successful say that what they do was never in their plans? However, neither Holland, Vrabec, nor Kravaršćan seem to be exceptions. They confirm perhaps the biggest difference between past and present entrepreneurs – that more and more young people are starting businesses from hobbies.

And that this is indeed the case, at least when it comes to younger entrepreneurs, has been confirmed by numerous guests on Lider’s podcast. One of them is Sara Jurlin Šančić, co-founder of the domestic jewelry brand Sexy Plexy, whose business started as a pastime. She and her colleague Iva Kreković Fleiss began making pendants and chains from leftover materials they used for making models during their studies. From a pastime, hobby, to a manufacture from which they earned pocket money, without a business plan and vision, they started a business a few years later.

Without Much Fear and Drama

The same was true for Duško Ilijević, founder and creative director of SentiMEntal Bikes. Ilijević is a trained educator, and he made his first bicycle for his own needs in a ‘workshop’ on the 12th floor of a Zagreb skyscraper. He says entrepreneurship was not his primary goal.

– It all started from the desire to make myself a vehicle, then a motorized bicycle, on which it would be a pleasure and satisfaction to ride. After my own ‘prototype’, ideas began to come on their own. For many years, I balanced between entrepreneurship and play – emphasized Ilijević.

And why is that so? How is it that business today is increasingly developing from the side interests of entrepreneurs? Sanja Petek Mujačić, executive director and partner at Hauske & Partner, explains that behind hobbies usually lies passion, and younger generations want to do jobs that fulfill their personal purpose.

– In those formative years, they are still searching for themselves, shedding the learned patterns of their parents and the traditional business world that told them which jobs and professions are good, promising, and which are not. Therefore, it is not surprising that they start in one business direction and then realize that what is a hobby for them can turn into a job that will bring them a good feeling and personal satisfaction – highlighted Petek Mujačić.

However, although all this sounds fun, we would be lying if we said it is risk-free. However one starts a business, it requires investment and opens up the possibility of failure. Yet, despite all the intimidation, young people are willing to take risks and to, as they say, go ‘headfirst through the wall’ – and much more than their older colleagues. Boris Vukić, partner and one of the founders of Adizes Southeast Europe (ASEE), explains that for the old guard, the risk was significant enough to leave a secure job, and they would be ashamed of failure, while younger people do not perceive it as a terrible thing.

– If they ‘fail’ with one business, they are ready to start again, and not just once. Moreover, younger people are far more financially literate and open than the old guard. Many of these experienced individuals boast that they have never taken loans and have only invested and reinvested their earned money. These younger ones are not only open to bank loans but also look forward to every investor or recapitalization. I laugh to myself at the thought of how an investor would fare if they appeared with an idea to invest in a business with the experienced guard in the early years of their companies. These younger ones ‘invest’ earlier in their pleasures, while the experienced ones lived quite ascetically for a long time. And in that vein – the experienced guard, when starting a business, did not even know that their company could be sold, while a considerable number of these new founders have a wet dream of selling it to someone – explains Vukić.

For more on the other differences between the new generation of entrepreneurs and the more experienced ones, as well as the most important similarities and why it is crucial that an entrepreneur is still an entrepreneur, read in the new issue of the printed and digital Lider.