Millennial Money: How Millennial Entrepreneurs Are Shaping Digital Business

In our previous article on Millennial Money, we spoke with three entrepreneurs who are working to change the way people consume content and experiences.

In this instalment, we caught up with three businessmen who are shaping business in the digital era. From marketing, to education, to Bitcoin, these entrepreneurs tell us how technology has shaped their business ventures, and how their millennial mindset helps them face challenges in the workplace.

Digital Marketing and PR: Jamie Love – CEO and Founder of Monumental Marketing

“When it comes to business in general, millennials are go-getters and straight talking. We say it how it is and cut the business bullshit,” said Jamie Love, CEO and founder of London-based digital marketing and PR firm Monumental Marketing.

Some of its clients include The Dungeons, Labayk, Fafa's, JustSpecs, PROUD Beer, and Pride Edinburgh,

Jamie’s brand very much stems from social media. After noticing a gap between digital marketing and the PR sphere, he decided to use platforms “with a purpose” and create a brand that would be available to all businesses regardless of their sizes and budgets.

His first client came from Instagram – a very millennial kick-start to his brand.

He said: “Social media was, and still is, key to Monumental, and has become paramount in exercising the power of a brand.”

Apart from his vibrant approach to everything digital, Jamie believes his age has positively influenced his relationship with businesses, employees and clients.

“When it comes to business in general, I do think my approach is very different from Boomers and Generation X. I have built and will continue to nurture a tight-knit team, comprised of people who demonstrate a true passion for their craft.

“I’ve built Monumental to empower minorities following personal experiences I had – I want it to be a safe, fun and dynamic workplace in which everyone feels welcome and empowered to create greatness.”

In the future, Jamie hopes to expand his business beyond its presence in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, while also maintaining a strong identity in the UK.

“Our generation doesn’t have time to waste. We want to get stuff done.”

Education: Mark Hughes – Co-Founder and CEO of Tutorful

Having grown up around educators, it was natural for Mark Hughes to pursue a career in this field.

With the vision of creating a platform where students could find the right tutor for their needs, Mark and his long-time friend Scott Woodley founded Tutorful, an online marketplace for both in-person and digital tutoring.

As of today, more than 80,000 students have found a tutor through the website.

As tutoring shifts towards the digital sphere, Mark is aware of the challenges that online learning can pose to his business.

“I think the real barrier to the adoption of more digital tools like online tutoring is the parents,” he said. “They’ve grown up in a different era, and there are pretty strong misconceptions around the effectiveness of digital tools that will take a few years to overcome.”

Mark also recognizes that his approach to business relations is different from other CEOs: between fruit baskets on Tuesdays, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) lamps, monthly socials, an abundance of plants and flexible working hours, he wants to ensure all employees are supported on the workplace.

“We regularly collect anonymous feedback in our office to ensure we’re always listening and able to support our staff the best we can. A lot of the feedback we get is around mental health and maintaining positive work environment.

“Whilst I’m at the higher end of the millennial scale, a lot of our experiences are similar so I hope I can listen and adapt to what my team needs.”

Bitcoin: Danny Scott – Co-Founder and CEO of CoinCorner

After funding his own software development company and becoming increasingly passionate about Bitcoin, Danny Scott and his business partners decided to make the jump.

“As entrepreneurs, you naturally have a passion to build things and solve problems. It becomes a hobby rather than work, and I was lucky enough to find like-minded people within our company,” he said.

He founded CoinCorner in 2014 with the aim of creating a place where people in the UK could buy Bitcoin as easily as possible.

However, starting out in such a niche field wasn’t always easy.

“As a young founder, I do feel it can be a challenge to overcome the doubts of experience and knowledge,” he said. “However, I have always tried to use this to my advantage – I made a real effort to learn not only the industry we operate in, but also how businesses work, how finance works, how start-ups work and how technology works.”

After reaching 150,000 users in 2018, Danny’s goal for the future is to help provide more education on Bitcoin, which he describes as “the biggest innovation in tech since the Internet.”

His advice to young entrepreneurs is to never hold back, especially when making the executive decision of starting a business.

“One thing I’ve learnt is you are never ready,” he said. “I come into work every day to new problems, you just have to be able to react accordingly to the best of your ability.”