What Makes Millennial Entrepreneurs Tick

What Makes Millennial Entrepreneurs Tick

By Yaj Malik, EVP and Managing Director,
Sage Asia

Today, we are increasingly dependent on a new generation of
entrepreneurs to drive innovation and growth. I am referring to the millennial
entrepreneurs.

Globally, millennial entrepreneurs are starting more businesses,
managing more people, and targeting higher profits compared to previous
generations. Similarly in Singapore, a recent survey have found millennials to be
more likely to plan or start a business or be self-employed in the next ten
years[1].

Millennial entrepreneurs are shaking things up. They are
rejecting established business approaches and work styles. They are not afraid
to experiment and innovate. They are accustomed to using technology to drive
efficiency or productivity. They are not afraid to work hard but at the same
time want flexibility.

But before I make more generalisations of this group of
individuals, I should emphasize that millennial entrepreneurs come with great
diversity. At Sage, we recently conducted a study into 7,400 millennial
entrepreneurs around the world, and what we found out was revealing to say the
least. Here is a quick snapshot.

Diverse group of individuals

From the Sage Walk
with Me study, we found that
millennial entrepreneurs can be grouped into five very different groups based
on their behavioural traits and the way they go about approaching their
business:

·      The
Principled Planners — extremely methodical in
their approach to work, they enjoy carefully planning for success. With an
ambitious streak, they never take anything at face value and always ask a lot
of questions.

·      The Driven
Techies – love
their work and can’t bear the thought of sitting around twiddling their thumbs,
they trust in the power and efficiency of innovative technology to keep them
one step ahead of the competition. They have a strong belief in its ability to
accurately target their existing and future customers.

·      The
Instinctive Explorers –
cavalier, they love the unknown, as well as exploring uncharted territory. They
trust their gut instincts and stick to their guns. A modern image is extremely
important to them, as is leaving a legacy behind to be remembered by. 

·      The Real
‘Worlders’ –
resourceful, but likely to say they rely on technology in order to succeed.
When it comes to their approach to work and making decisions, they tend to
alternate between going on gut instinct and taking a more methodical approach. 

·      The
Thrill-Seekers – easily
bored and always on the lookout for the next challenge, they couldn’t care less
about appearances. They work best around others and believe that making a
social impact is overrated.

Ambitious business leaders

It used to be that business owners would start a business, build
it up, groom their children to run it and pass it on when they are ready to
retire. Well, the thinking is quite different with millennial entrepreneurs. Of
the global millennial entrepreneur respondents, 62 percent believe they will be a
serial entrepreneurs — starting more than one than business. Among these, 52
percent said this is because they have lots of ideas they want to share with
the world. It is not that
different in Singapore as 58 percent of the millennial entrepreneurs here
believe they will start more than one business during their lifetime.

Ethics and values important

Another interesting finding is that millennial entrepreneurs
tend to hold true to ethics and values strongly. A vast majority said they
would sacrifice profits over their own ethics and values. For instance, close to 73 percent of
respondents in Singapore said they have sacrificed profits in order to stay
true to their personal values in business.

These group of business leaders also see doing social good as
important. In South Africa (80%) and Brazil (81%), a majority of the
respondents emphasised that they value doing social good in their approach to
business. Some respondents in Australia (20%), France (19%) Switzerland (24%)
also said that employee happiness is what gets them out of bed in the morning.

Valuing Work-life balance

Furthermore, millennial entrepreneurs value work-life balance.
Specifically, 66 percent of the global respondents said life comes before work.
Similarly, 67 percent of respondents in Singapore prioritise life over work. It is possible that that many
millennials here have grown up around adults who toiled at their businesses or
work during the early years of the country’s independence, and they are now
choosing to ensure that they devote time to themselves and their families.

Respondents in Australia (70%), Belgium (70%), Brazil (71%) and
Switzerland (70%) also said reducing the amount of hours they spend working and
retiring early is a key focus for them. Interestingly, close to three-quarters (73.4%) in
Singapore said that retirement and reducing their hours is a key focus, higher
than any other country that responded.

Understanding the Millennial Entrepreneur

The Sage study revealed important and interesting insights into
the characteristics that influence their behaviour in areas such as attitudes
towards work-life balance, technology adoption, social values and barriers they
face. They fall into distinct camps with specific concerns, fears, hopes, and
preference in business approaches and work styles.

We conducted this study because it is important that
businesses around the world understand the behaviour patterns and business
needs of millennial
entrepreneurs. As the next generation of business builders, millennial
entrepreneurs will
continue to build their businesses to be the SMEs of tomorrow and eventually become the business
leaders of the future.

Extending to the larger society, this entrepreneurial spirit
creates opportunities for others — and in realizing their goals, millennial
entrepreneurs also create prosperity that spreads to the rest of society, a
vision Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong recently shared in his National Day Rally
speech[2].

Understanding what makes millennial entrepreneurs tick stands us
all in good stead for the future. No matter if you want to do business with
them, buy from them, hire them or create policy that helps them to grow. 

– End –

[1] Almost 1 in 2 Singaporeans would rather
start their own business rather than find a job –  Singapore Market Report, 20 October
2016

2 NDR 2016: Disruption the ‘defining’
challenge to the economy, says PM Lee – Channel NewsAsia, 21 August 2016