In this episode, Paige Finn Doherty, founder of Behind Genius Ventures (BGV), shares how SaaS founders can effectively engage the Gen Z market. Drawing on her personal journey from aspiring rapper manager to venture capitalist, she emphasizes that both roles involve shaping digital identities. She outlines Gen Z’s defining traits—values‑driven, skeptical of the status quo, low tolerance for poor product experiences, and heavy reliance on the internet for community and commerce. Doherty recommends three core strategies: (1) develop and surface authentic company values, promoting them internally and externally while building long‑term relationships; (2) tell compelling, digital‑first stories using short‑form video, memes, humor, and vulnerability, citing Ben & Jerry’s, Duolingo, and Morning Brew as exemplars; and (3) create memorable product experiences that blend function, form, and deep customer empathy, urging founders to spend at least an hour each week in direct customer conversations. She stresses that authenticity, humor, and genuine feedback loops are essential to win Gen Z’s trust and influence. The episode concludes with a call to action for founders to connect with BGV and references an OpenView blog article and the Seed to Harvest podcast.
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When I was a teenager, I wanted to manage rappers. The lifestyle didn't agree with me, so I became the next best thing, a venture capitalist. Managing rappers and investing in startups may seem like totally different occupations, but I've come to think that they're quite similar. In both instances, you're helping ambitious, talented people build an identity and tell their story. And where does that story get told? On the internet. And as a member of the first generation to grow up online, I like to think that I know a thing or two about building digital identities. I've been posting videos online since 2013, and building a community on the internet is one of the main things that led me to founding Behind Genius Ventures. The internet is the primary way Gen Z works, plays, and finds community. That's why my venture firm, Behind Genius Ventures, is built around The principles of content and community. Through everything that we do, my aim is to bring people together. Nowadays, the people that my founders often want to be connected with are members of my generation. We already account for 20% of the U.S. population with $360 billion of buying power and growing yearly. The youngest generation is always the future, but Gen Z is taking an active role in shaping that future. We're values-focused, skeptical of the status quo, and we know how to leverage the full power of the internet to accomplish our goals. I'm an advocate for both ambitious, talented founders trying to solve hard problems and passionate Gen Z trying to shape the world in their image. And as such, I feel uniquely qualified to examine how these 2 parties can come together to affect meaningful change. With that, here are some thoughts on how founders can reach the Gen Z market. So number one, Gen Z has a very low tolerance for bad product experiences. This is a generation that grew up on really great consumer products like Snapchat and Instagram. And so they are very conscious consumers. So we aim to do business with companies that align with our values and how we want to live. And I think this trope has been overplayed in the market to the point of ridicule. I like Gen Z being labeled as social justice warriors. And I think this commentary is somewhat distracted from the original intent. And what really matters to Gen Z is that the business is pursuing a mission that's important to them. It's not just about the bottom line. It's about bringing your vision of how the world should work to life. I think Gen Z feeds off the magnetism of brands that have the confidence of their convictions. So I think a couple really great examples First is Ben and Jerry's. So despite being a legacy brand, Ben and Jerry's has fostered strong affinity in the Gen Z market by leading with their values and allowing those values to inform how they do business. For businesses looking to inject a little bit more idealism into their brands, here's 3 recommendations that I have. The first is to develop company values if you haven't already and determine how they manifest themselves throughout your organization internally. And then the second would be to promote your company values in customer-facing communications as well. And the third is to think of ways to build long-lasting relationships with your users rather than one-off transactions. The second way that SaaS founders can reach the Gen Z market is tell a story. So part of being values-oriented manifests itself in great storytelling. Stories make the world go round. So When BGV is evaluating startups, one of the criteria that I look for is the ability of the business or the founder to tell its story in a conversational, digital-first way. I think of this as the business's, what I call an eclectic fiction. It can be actualized in a variety of different ways. For example, making funny TikToks. I think short-form video is highly effective. And memes, my favorite. They indicate a business's willingness to not take itself too seriously. Great examples of this would be Duolingo with their mascot, and also Morning Brew. And there's sort of interesting, like, post-capitalistic nihilism to brands poking fun of themselves that tends to resonate with the mindset of Gen Z. Another approach is to express vulnerability as a brand. So Gen Z is very forward-thinking on issues of mental health, and we appreciate brands and founders speaking honestly via blogs, podcasts, tweets about their experiences. journey, struggles, and what they've learned. So these kinds of approaches are a departure from traditional corporate marketing, which reeks of empty platitudes and confusing phraseology. So to summarize, to connect with Gen Z, focus on authenticity and customer-facing communications, and 2 techniques to come across as more authentic are humor and vulnerability. And then we also have a very low tolerance for marketing BS. So there's no better way to destroy your credibility with the Gen Z market than Inauthentic and boring content. And the last is to create a memorable product experience. So as digital natives, Gen Z has a strong nose for product. We can sense immediately when a product feels janky or dysfunctional or something's off. And we exert a measure of influence over what's considered sleek and tasteful design. What typifies a great product experience for Gen Z is a healthy mixture of function and form matched with deep empathy for the customer experience. The latter ingredient comes from customer research and the development of target personas, what your customers like, how they spend their leisure time, etc. And at BGV, we push our portfolio companies to talk to their customers as much as possible. I believe most founders should set aside at least 1 hour per week to interact with their customers, be it through direct customer interviews or responding to support tickets. The customer empathy helps you understand where your product creates value and how to capture that value in your pricing model. It's also exciting for customers to feel like their feedback is being taken seriously. So listening to customers and moving quickly on their feedback in a thoughtful way sets companies apart from the fray. So key takeaways, Gen Z has a low tolerance for bad product experience. Great products are a combination of form, function, and customer empathy. And companies need to talk to their customers on how to iterate on products. And utilizing feedback also helps build stronger customer brands. In conclusion, there is a changing of the guards happening in tech, and after a lifetime spent as the end user, Gen Z is now stepping in to dictate how tech is built, funded, and sold. We understand that tech has a profound impact on how we live day to day, and we want a say in determining what problems tech solves. That's part of why I started Behind Genius Ventures, and it's why I'd advise founders on how they can connect with the Gen Z market. Feel free to learn more and get in touch by visiting our website behindgeniusventures.com. And I want to thank the OpenView team for the full article, which can be found on the OpenView blog, and I'll drop that link below. Hope you enjoy this. Subscribe for more. And a very special thank you to Seed to Harvest podcast editor Tate Doherty for his amazing work on this episode.
