Early Entrepedia – Gen Z Business & Economics Insights

From the Bedroom to the “For You” Page. 

In 2020, Grace Beverly posted a TikTok explaining her daily routine as a student founder. A week later, she had blown up and had a line of customers that she’s never met. 

TikTok was known for its viral lip syncs and dances, now it’s considered a resourceful launchpad to turn real business ideas with speed and efficiency. 

At the end of the day, playing the start-up game hasn’t changed, its perspective has–into 15 second bursts. 

Why is TikTok the weapon? 

1. Efficiency: 

• Gen Z practically lives in short form videos. This way, creating content that is scrollable and easily comprehensible increases efficiency. TikTok also creates a daily language with the audience so it doesn’t seem like work. 

2. $0 Marketing Budget: 

• Launching a startup takes a hefty amount of money when putting effort into advertising it. On the other hand, one good TikTok can bring thousands of views even higher than brands that have been posting for years. 

3. Creating a Community: 

• TikTok has its variety of niche communities allowing it to find the correct target audience discovering your product for you. 

Gen Z Startup Stars: Example Success Stories

• Dasha Derkach, teen founder of Enchanted Scrunch, a business that sold scrunchies, found TikTok to be the most efficient way of marketing. Though she started her business on Instagram, she began using TikTok and ended up generating 15,000 views on video. This caused her to go viral and from 10 orders she ranged to a million views per video. 
• Pierce Woodward, teen founder of Brand Pierre, a business that sold spoon rings, was created during quarantine. However this creation was taken to the next level as he marketed it on TikTok and was able to feature influencers, causing a million-dollar business. 

TikTok Growth Playbook: 

1. Sell the story – Showcase the story behind your product such as creating videos on the process or the routine–viewers get more engaged.
2. Follow the Trends – Use trendy audios and tailor it to your niche for better growth and traffic. 
3. Collab vs Compete – Use collaborations to your advantage and try to get featured by other people, even if they are micro-influencers.

Notably identify the risks: 

• Trends Changing – Something that may be popular today may not be tomorrow. 
• Copycats – Specific content is widely used or created so ideas may get cloned faster making it harder to go viral.

TikTok → Shark Tank?

• TikTok shop is already burning out with the idea of e-commerce and social media. In no time we may even see direct selling features, integrated shipping, etc. 

Your Action Plan: 

• Pick one niche and stand on it
• Post consistently 
• Build a community – sales would automatically happen 
• Don’t forget, this is used as a launchpad, not for the entire business.

Start Today:

For past generations, growing a startup meant finding capital and designing marketing campaigns. For Gen Z, it’s as easy as using your phone and recording a 15 second snippet. Always remember the best time to start was yesterday. All you can do is start now.