Why Gen Z will be the biggest and boldest founders yet

This article is part of our series supporting The Pitch 2025, an IMAGE and Samsung partnership, searching for the next generation of fearless founders and brave start-ups. Think you’ve got what it takes? Apply today at image.ie/the-pitch-2025

They’ve been dismissed as distracted, glued to their phones, obsessed with filters. But Generation Z – people born from the mid-90s to early 2010s – are quietly and not-so-quietly building something seismic. They’re stepping into the world of business with the kind of raw nerve, emotional intelligence and digital fluency the rest of us had to learn on the job.

You’ll know them by their appetite for truth, their allergic reaction to greenwashing, their zero-tolerance policy for performative inclusivity. If they don’t see the world they want, they build it. With clarity. With urgency. And with a kind of confidence that comes not from ego, but from purpose. In Ireland, we’re becoming known as a country that hums with entrepreneurial energy. Here, Gen Z are emerging not just as founders, but as fierce and fearless changemakers.

Digital strategists

While many founders of earlier generations scrambled to understand what a “funnel” was or how to build an audience, Gen Z has been launching side hustles from their childhood bedrooms in Achill, Arklow and Athlone for years. They don’t need to catch up with tech – they were born into it.

They are quietly powerful in this way. Armed with a phone and a well-calibrated sense of timing, they can create a brand overnight. They don’t just “do” content, they understand story, timing and niche audiences in a way that would leave some legacy agencies scrambling.

We’re seeing this already, with young women in their early 20s building fashion brands that reject fast fashion while mastering TikTok shop algorithms. Think neurodivergent-led startups designing inclusive UX with more empathy than any consultancy ever could. Gen Z aren’t learning the rules, they’re rewriting them.

Values, not vanity metrics

Another not-so-subtle shift in this generation is that Gen Z founders are no longer asking if business can be a force for good; they assume it must be. Climate, social justice, mental health, neurodiversity, accessibility aren’t categories they bolt onto a brand; they’re the starting point for business. For this generation of founders, issues are not marketing angles, they are missions.

What’s striking about many Gen Z women founders in particular is their refusal to apologise for leading with values. These founders are not soft, they’re sharp, strategic and deeply intuitive about what their audiences care about. They know connection is currency. Trust is everything and they won’t dilute their message to appeal to outdated business norms.

Growing up in chaos

This is a generation that came of age during crises: The 2008 recession coloured their childhoods. The pandemic disrupted their educations, mental health and early careers. They’ve been shaped by economic precarity, climate anxiety and social movements that have demanded they speak up or stay complicit.

They’re unusually comfortable with uncertainty,  a vital skill for any founder.

So yes, they’re bold. But it’s not bravado. It’s the kind of boldness that comes from having no illusions. They’ve learned to pivot early and often. They’ve built careers on shaky ground, which means they’re unusually comfortable with uncertainty, a vital skill for any founder.

And perhaps most tellingly, they don’t wait for permission. If a job doesn’t exist, they’ll make it. If a system doesn’t serve them, they’ll design one that does.

Collaboration is queen

Where older – arguably more masculine – models of entrepreneurship prized competition and gatekeeping, Gen Z is much more interested in collaboration. There’s a radical generosity to how they show up for one another with co-hosted workshops, cross-platform promotions, peer mentoring, even shared profit models.

And for women – especially women who’ve often felt locked out of rooms or overlooked by traditional investors – this shift is revolutionary. Gen Z women founders are not just building brands. They’re building ecosystems. It’s less “boss babe” and more “build with me.” And it’s working.

Where Ireland fits in

The good news is, our institutions are catching up. Programmes like Enterprise Ireland’s “Student Entrepreneur Awards” and female founder accelerators are making it easier to access capital and mentorship. But there’s still a gap, especially for young women outside the Dublin bubble, or those without family connections in business.

This is where experienced business leaders – the mentors, the angels, the connectors – come in. Gen Z doesn’t want hand-holding. But they do need someone who sees them clearly, backs them early, and doesn’t ask them to compromise their voice in order to succeed.

Gen Z are not waiting in the wings, they are already here. 

Gen Z aren’t just the future of business in Ireland. They’re its present. They are not waiting in the wings, they are already here.
For experienced entrepreneurs, investors, angels and mentors, now is the time to back them. Stay relevant and make a bigger impact when you look to collaborate with Gen Z.

The Pitch 2025

If you are building something – a product, a platform or a bold idea rooted in purpose – The Pitch 2025 is your opportunity to shine.

It’s Ireland’s most exciting competition for early-stage founders, and it’s designed to spotlight the next generation of leaders. That means a technology suite, media visibility, mentorship and a platform that puts you in front of the people who can help you scale.

This is more than a competition. It’s your stage.

Enter now at image.ie/the-pitch-2025