Blog

Gen Z: Opportunities for Innovation

by Ann Bordetsky, Danielle Lay and Hunter WorlandMar 20, 2023

Series Introduction

Gen Z – born into the era of the mobile internet, social networks, and digitally native commerce – is coming of age in an increasingly complex world and challenging convention with fresh perspectives and new emerging norms.

As investors, we watch for intersections where cultural shifts meet technology, moments when trends and societal evolutions collide to create opportunities. As Gen Z becomes the driving force in pop culture, at work and in commerce, we wanted to explore the unique perspective and needs of Gen Z users and share what we find distinctive about this generation of digital natives.

In this Gen Z series, we throw out the typical VC market map and instead dive into an exploration of fundamental domains of Gen Z consumer life: commerce, financial health, careers, social life, etc. We'll be sharing our takes through this series, and we are excited to spark conversation with builders focused on Gen Z.

If you're a founder or team building for the Gen Z future, we welcome your perspectives, and we'd love to hear from you!

Please reach us at: abordetsky@nea.com, dlay@nea.com, hworland@nea.com

In this series:

Topics

About the Authors

Ann Bordetsky

Ann is a partner at NEA focused on early-stage investing in AI category creators, consumer and prosumer applications that shape our daily lives and user-centric business software. She loves working with visionary, technical founders who want to build iconic products and generational companies. Ann's experience prior to NEA spans 5 pioneering tech companies, including 2 startup exits and business leadership roles at Uber and Twitter during their hyper-growth phase. She holds an MBA from Stanford and a B.S. from UC Berkeley.
Ann is a partner at NEA focused on early-stage investing in AI category creators, consumer and prosumer applications that shape our daily lives and user-centric business software. She loves working with visionary, technical founders who want to build iconic products and generational companies. Ann's experience prior to NEA spans 5 pioneering tech companies, including 2 startup exits and business leadership roles at Uber and Twitter during their hyper-growth phase. She holds an MBA from Stanford and a B.S. from UC Berkeley.

Danielle Lay

Danielle joined NEA in 2017. She is a New York-based Partner investing in generational AI companies across consumer and enterprise, with a focus on products that inspire deep customer obsession. Her investments include Beehiiv, Patreon, Goody, Fizz, Workera.ai, among others. Prior to joining NEA, she was an investment banker at Goldman Sachs covering fintech. She graduated from Northwestern University.
Danielle joined NEA in 2017. She is a New York-based Partner investing in generational AI companies across consumer and enterprise, with a focus on products that inspire deep customer obsession. Her investments include Beehiiv, Patreon, Goody, Fizz, Workera.ai, among others. Prior to joining NEA, she was an investment banker at Goldman Sachs covering fintech. She graduated from Northwestern University.

Hunter Worland

Hunter's investment focus is applications and infrastructure for the digital economy particularly in fintech, commerce, and consumer. He works closely with companies like Slash, Kindred, and LXA. Prior to joining NEA in 2021, Hunter was an Associate Consultant at Bain & Company in New York, where he worked with media and financial services clients. Hunter graduated from Harvard University with a degree in history and government, as well as a certificate in Latin American studies and a Hoopes Prize. He still enjoys historical archival research.
Hunter's investment focus is applications and infrastructure for the digital economy particularly in fintech, commerce, and consumer. He works closely with companies like Slash, Kindred, and LXA. Prior to joining NEA in 2021, Hunter was an Associate Consultant at Bain & Company in New York, where he worked with media and financial services clients. Hunter graduated from Harvard University with a degree in history and government, as well as a certificate in Latin American studies and a Hoopes Prize. He still enjoys historical archival research.