The Millennial Effect.

AuthorStewart, Heather Dawn
PositionFrom the Editor

The Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute at the University of Utah opened its entrepreneurial residential space, Lassonde Studios, in the fall of 2016. The facility serves as living quarters, co-working space and product development space for 400 college students who are laser focused on launching startups.

The Lassonde Studios seems to have unleashed a pent-up entrepreneurial drive among this youthful demographic. In 2016, the institute helped 97 student startup teams form and begin testing their ideas. By 2017, after the opening of Lassonde Studios, the number had more than tripled to 329 startup teams.

Are millennials more entrepreneurial than previous generations? While trends are still playing out, it seems like the answer may be yes. The 2016 BNP Paribas Global entrepreneurs Report found that on average, millennials are starting companies at a younger age than baby boomers. The millennial average is 27.7 years old, while the boomer average is 35.3. Research from EY & EIG found that millennials admire entrepreneurs and consider themselves uniquely entrepreneurial. The survey, "The Millennial Economy," found that 62 percent of millennials have considered starting their own businesses, and 55 percent believe their generation is more entrepreneurial than previous generations. There's even a tongue-twisting word for it: millenpreneurs.

That ethos may be even more pronounced in Utah, a state that prides itself on its entrepreneurial fervor and rock-solid work ethic. A quick glance at the roster of our 2017 20 in their 20s honorees seems to bear this out. Five of...

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