Who do young entrepreneurs look up to?Elon Musk

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in middle school, Kenan Saleh has seen this movie Social network, early dramatic descriptions Facebook. He decided, on the spot, that he would one day start a company of his own. “It’s the first movie I’ve ever seen, and it shows that you can be the most successful person in the room when you’re young,” he said. “I definitely follow mark Zuckerberg In certain aspects. “

In true Zuckerberg style, Saleh did start a company in his dorm room at the University of Pennsylvania.He raised $500,000 while he was in the final, then Sell ​​the company to Lyft 2019, the year he graduated. Along the way, Saleh realized he needed a new role model. He doesn’t want to be caught up in another series of scandals like Zuckerberg.many people like Steve Jobs, but Jobs is dead, and reading his biography is as engaging as “reading a history book.” Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Bill Gates are still alive, but their contributions to Silicon Valley already feel like ancient history. Saleh wants a hero who is making history.

Young people like to worship their predecessors. Jobs has been a Silicon Valley icon for decades, but for the next generation of entrepreneurs, his legacy feels as old as Web 1.0. Talented boys like Zuckerberg and Evan Spiegel who became billionaires at 25 have fallen out of favor. The same goes for tech oligarchs like Jeff Bezos. “We don’t respect these fools,” said Marc Baghadjian, 22, the founder of a dating startup. “Just because you’re a billionaire doesn’t mean you’re positively influencing change.”

Instead, both Bahad Gyan and Saleh now worship Elon Musk, they see it as a billionaire with a moral mission. “He proved that you can do the best thing for the world and reap the benefits at the same time,” said Saleh, who started watching Musk’s videos in college.

Wired magazine asked about a dozen young entrepreneurs, 15 to 30-year-olds, about their inspiration. More than half mentioned Musk. Others mentioned tech optimists like Sam Altman and Patrick Collison, who seem to believe technology can solve the world’s biggest problems, or entrepreneurs and philanthropists with little-known startups.None of them have read a book about history Apple, Google, or Amazon; they say they are inspired by forward-thinking companies trying to solve the world’s biggest problems.

Olaf Sorensen, who has taught entrepreneurship at UCLA and Yale, said his students tend to admire those who “succeed without selling out.” Some cited Seth Goldman, the founder of Honest Tea and now chairman of Beyond Meat’s board, as one source of inspiration because “he focuses his energy on investing in and supporting businesses with an ethical mission,” Sow said. Renson said.

“This generation is looking at all the problems and trying to say, ‘How can we start to be a part of solving the problems that the older generation created for us?'” said Lori Rosenkopf, associate dean for entrepreneurship at the Wharton School of Business in Pennsylvania. Over the past few years, Rosenkopf said, she’s noticed a shift in the way students talk about entrepreneurship — not just as an alternative career to banking or consulting, but as a way to start a business with a “greater social perspective.” Way.

For many young entrepreneurs, Musk is the poster child for this mindset. “Elon Musk is really paying for mistakes made by other generations,” says Baghadjian, who reads Ashlee Vance Musk’s Biography In high school, he’s been considered a hero ever since. Baghadjian said that while companies like Amazon and Apple have generated tremendous innovation, Musk’s work on electric vehicles and solar is more important.

Other young people were inspired by the metaphor of startup founders struggling on the road to success. It was mentioned that Musk slept on the floor of Tesla headquarters, which they said showed courage.Some also mentioned the story Airbnb Founder Brian Chesky maxed out his credit cards in the early days of his business and lived off ramen noodles.

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