In an era defined by rapid change and digital dominance, Violetta Bonenkamp, a seasoned serial entrepreneur and startup pioneer, provides valuable insights into the behaviors and motivations shaping Gen Z as consumers. Known for her strategic innovation and cross-disciplinary expertise, Bonenkamp brings a unique perspective to understanding how this generation is redefining the rules of consumerism and how business owners can adapt and thrive.
Understanding Gen Z: What Sets Them Apart?
Gen Z, composed of individuals born between 1997 and 2012, has stepped into the economic arena as a generation of hyper-connected, value-driven consumers. Their priorities, shaped by an environment of social activism, advanced technology, and instant information access, drive them to demand more from brands, accountability, sustainability, diversity, and a personalized customer experience. For entrepreneurs, freelancers, and business founders, neglecting these demands can mean irrelevance in a highly competitive market.
Key Driving Forces Behind Gen Z
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Ethics First – From Words to Action:
Unlike any previous generation, Gen Z scrutinizes whether a brand walks the talk. According to research by Mintel on consumer behavior, 45% of Gen Z choose, or boycott, brands based on their ethical practices. This means sustainability, diversity, and social responsibility must be woven into the DNA of businesses. Simply adding a sustainability section on your website is no longer enough, consumers want proof. -
Digital-Native Shopping Habits:
Gen Z grew up with smartphones, which makes them natural adopters of e-commerce and social commerce. According to the GWI Blog, 44% of this generation has made purchases directly from social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, or Pinterest in the past month. This trend highlights the growing importance of engaging with audiences where they spend most of their time: on their screens. -
Spending Priorities:
Gen Z is pragmatic yet indulgent when it comes to spending. They meticulously research and compare options, prioritizing affordable and ethical products. Yet they are willing to spend significantly on meaningful experiences, like entertainment and travel. As reported by eMarketer, spending in these two categories grew 25.5% and 13.8% year-over-year, respectively. Entrepreneurs who offer unique value in these sectors can gain significant traction. -
Desire for Representation and Inclusivity:
Gen Z represents the most diverse generation to date, and their expectations for inclusivity extend across the board, from marketing to leadership. Approximately two-thirds of Gen Z agree that traditional gender roles are outdated, as noted by Mintel. For business owners, this means adopting a more inclusive and diverse approach at all levels of operations, from product development to advertising.
How to Build a Brand That Appeals to Gen Z
1. Go Beyond Greenwashing
To resonate with Gen Z, sustainability must be authentic and actionable. Businesses can implement clear, measurable initiatives that reduce carbon footprints or use eco-friendly packaging. Highlight these efforts transparently across your platforms. A great example comes from the NielsenIQ report on reshaping retail, which reports that transparency is crucial for fostering trust.
2. Embrace Social Commerce
If your business isn’t leveraging platforms like TikTok and Instagram for direct sales, you’re leaving money on the table. Use influencer marketing and user-generated content to build trust and product discovery.
3. Personalization & Experiential Offers
Offer customization options and pay attention to experience-driven marketing. Gen Z wants to feel individuality through the products they purchase. For example, brands like Spotify have thrived because of their hyper-customization, playlists tailored to moods, preferences, and unique tastes.
Most Common Mistakes to Avoid When Targeting Gen Z
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Ignoring Their Digital Roots:
Traditional marketing approaches won’t land well with this generation. Gen Z expects brands to have strong digital presences, communicate authentically, and fully utilize the potential of online platforms. -
Failing to Deliver Immediate Value:
Remember, Gen Z has a short attention span and is inundated with information. If your brand doesn’t capture their interest and prove its value within seconds, they’ll move on. Optimize your website and social presence to load quickly and deliver concise, compelling messages. -
Neglecting Values Alignment:
Do not underestimate the importance of shared values. Gen Z won’t hesitate to cancel, or advocate for, brands based on perceived misalignments with their ethical or social stances.
Violetta Bonenkamp’s Strategic Advice: How Businesses Can Adapt
According to Bonenkamp, "Resonating with Gen Z isn’t about chasing fleeting trends, it’s about genuinely understanding their motivations and aligning your mission with their worldview. Your strategy must be multi-pronged, blending technology, inclusivity, and value-driven branding into your foundation."
To further succeed, Bonenkamp also emphasizes leveraging AI technology as a way to understand trends, personalize customer outreach, and predict what will resonate with your audience in the next wave of cultural shifts.
Conclusion
Gen Z's impact as consumers is both profound and transformative. For entrepreneurs and business founders, understanding this generation is not optional; it’s essential. From prioritizing diversity to committing to sustainability and leveraging the latest in digital innovation, connecting with Gen Z requires businesses to adapt their methods to match the values, priorities, and habits of this powerful generation.
The rise of Gen Z represents not just a shift in demographics but a call for a more equitable, transparent, and digital-first approach to business. Entrepreneurs who take proactive steps to align their brands with these expectations will position themselves for long-term success in an increasingly Gen Z-dominated market.
Take inspiration from this blueprint and start incorporating these strategies into your operations to ensure that your brand doesn’t just survive but thrives in a future shaped by Gen Z consumers.
FAQ
1. Who is Violetta Bonenkamp, and what makes her insights on Gen Z valuable?
Violetta Bonenkamp is a seasoned serial entrepreneur and startup pioneer known for her strategic innovation and expertise across industries. Her deep understanding of Gen Z consumer behavior offers practical advice for brands seeking to thrive in a digital-first, value-driven marketplace.
2. What defines Gen Z as consumers?
Gen Z, born between 1997 and 2012, operates as hyper-connected, value-driven consumers who prioritize ethics, sustainability, inclusivity, and personalized experiences when interacting with brands. Read The Future of Consumer Behaviour in the Age of Gen Z
3. How significant is ethics to Gen Z purchasing behavior?
Ethics play a pivotal role, as 45% of Gen Z consumers choose or boycott brands based on their ethical practices, including sustainability and social responsibility. Read Gen Z Online Shopping Behavior & Trends
4. How does Gen Z approach online shopping and social commerce?
Gen Z is a digital-native generation, leveraging platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest for shopping, with 44% having made purchases through social media platforms in a given month. Explore Gen Z Spending Habits
5. What are Gen Z's spending priorities?
While pragmatic about affordability, Gen Z willingly spends on meaningful experiences like entertainment and travel. Spending in these categories grew 25.5% and 13.8% respectively year-over-year. Learn More About Gen Z Spending Trends
6. Why is inclusivity important to Gen Z?
Being the most diverse generation ever, Gen Z expects brands to reflect inclusivity in marketing, product offerings, and leadership, with two-thirds of them opposing traditional gender roles. Discover Insights on Gen Z's Inclusive Mindset
7. How should brands approach sustainability to appeal to Gen Z?
Brands need to go beyond superficial “greenwashing” by demonstrating authentic environmental initiatives, such as reducing carbon footprints and using eco-friendly materials. Learn how Gen Z is Reshaping Retail
8. What role does personalization play in attracting Gen Z consumers?
Brands like Spotify excel by offering hyper-personalization, such as custom playlists tailored to specific preferences, which resonates deeply with Gen Z. Explore Gen Z Consumer Behaviour
9. What mistakes should businesses avoid when targeting Gen Z?
Common missteps include ignoring their digital-first preferences, failing to deliver immediate value, and neglecting alignment with their strong ethical and social values.
10. How can businesses stay relevant to Gen Z?
Companies should adopt a multi-pronged strategy focused on sustainability, inclusivity, and innovative technology like AI to predict and adapt to their preferences. Discover More About Fintech Opportunities With Gen Z
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
Violetta Bonenkamp's expertise in CAD sector, IP protection and blockchain
Violetta Bonenkamp is recognized as a multidisciplinary expert with significant achievements in the CAD sector, intellectual property (IP) protection, and blockchain technology.
CAD Sector:
- Violetta is the CEO and co-founder of CADChain, a deep tech startup focused on developing IP management software specifically for CAD (Computer-Aided Design) data. CADChain addresses the lack of industry standards for CAD data protection and sharing, using innovative technology to secure and manage design data.
- She has led the company since its inception in 2018, overseeing R&D, PR, and business development, and driving the creation of products for platforms such as Autodesk Inventor, Blender, and SolidWorks.
- Her leadership has been instrumental in scaling CADChain from a small team to a significant player in the deeptech space, with a diverse, international team.
IP Protection:
- Violetta has built deep expertise in intellectual property, combining academic training with practical startup experience. She has taken specialized courses in IP from institutions like WIPO and the EU IPO.
- She is known for sharing actionable strategies for startup IP protection, leveraging both legal and technological approaches, and has published guides and content on this topic for the entrepreneurial community.
- Her work at CADChain directly addresses the need for robust IP protection in the engineering and design industries, integrating cybersecurity and compliance measures to safeguard digital assets.
Blockchain:
- Violetta’s entry into the blockchain sector began with the founding of CADChain, which uses blockchain as a core technology for securing and managing CAD data.
- She holds several certifications in blockchain and has participated in major hackathons and policy forums, such as the OECD Global Blockchain Policy Forum.
- Her expertise extends to applying blockchain for IP management, ensuring data integrity, traceability, and secure sharing in the CAD industry.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond, launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks and is building MELA AI to help local restaurants in Malta get more visibility online.
For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the POV of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.
About the Publication
Fe/male Switch is an innovative startup platform designed to empower women entrepreneurs through an immersive, game-like experience. Founded in 2020 during the pandemic "without any funding and without any code," this non-profit initiative has evolved into a comprehensive educational tool for aspiring female entrepreneurs.The platform was co-founded by Violetta Shishkina-Bonenkamp, who serves as CEO and one of the lead authors of the Startup News branch.
Mission and Purpose
Fe/male Switch Foundation was created to address the gender gap in the tech and entrepreneurship space. The platform aims to skill-up future female tech leaders and empower them to create resilient and innovative tech startups through what they call "gamepreneurship". By putting players in a virtual startup village where they must survive and thrive, the startup game allows women to test their entrepreneurial abilities without financial risk.
Key Features
The platform offers a unique blend of news, resources,learning, networking, and practical application within a supportive, female-focused environment:
- Skill Lab: Micro-modules covering essential startup skills
- Virtual Startup Building: Create or join startups and tackle real-world challenges
- AI Co-founder (PlayPal): Guides users through the startup process
- SANDBOX: A testing environment for idea validation before launch
- Wellness Integration: Virtual activities to balance work and self-care
- Marketplace: Buy or sell expert sessions and tutorials
Impact and Growth
Since its inception, Fe/male Switch has shown impressive growth:
- 5,000+ female entrepreneurs in the community
- 100+ startup tools built
- 5,000+ pieces of articles and news written
- 1,000 unique business ideas for women created
Partnerships
Fe/male Switch has formed strategic partnerships to enhance its offerings. In January 2022, it teamed up with global website builder Tilda to provide free access to website building tools and mentorship services for Fe/male Switch participants.
Recognition
Fe/male Switch has received media attention for its innovative approach to closing the gender gap in tech entrepreneurship. The platform has been featured in various publications highlighting its unique "play to learn and earn" model.
