How is Gen Z changing India's economy? | How Teenagers Are Building Wealth with AI & Digital Skills

you that a teenager in India is already generating passive income? I think most of you would say yes, but do you know what surprises me? Why are all of us still surprised? Because our generation is not waiting anymore.

Our upcoming speaker is a very close friend of mine. He has been part of NEXT journey since the very beginning, a true all-rounder. He's won bronze medal in interstate school skating and gold in football with a vision to become an IITian. and build a tech company that solves one of the world's biggest problems. So let's bring the energy up with a standing ovation for Yashas!

Did you know that 40% of all investors in the National Stock Exchange of India are under the age of 30 and 28% are under the age of 25? And that's our generation. I come from a business family. My parents achieved financial freedom at the age of 26, and they did not inherit it. They did not get lucky. They built it through patience, through focus, through discipline, through perseverance, and they built it so that I would not have to start from zero. First business thing I attended was MMI when I was 6 years old. From 10 years old, I have been attending every single retreat of my parents. I've even been attending every FBR, attended every wealth retreat, every mindset retreat, every business retreat. I saw people transform in between me, in before me. I saw them share their struggles with my parents. But the second I shifted to my IIT-oriented school, I was shocked. In the first exam, I got -4. But in one of the most recent exams, I secured All India Rank 9.

So now we can get back to the speakers. Our upcoming speaker is a very close friend of mine. He has been part of NEXT journey since the very beginning. A true all-rounder. He has a— he's won bronze medal in interstate school skating and gold in football and is a pro tracer, basically someone who does parkour. Who knows parkour in this room? Who knows what parkour is? There are few people who don't— there are many people who don't know what it is. Parkour is basically where they'll be running and they'll have to do different jumps over—

Obstacles.

Obstacles, like that. So, he's mastered the art of parkour and is a skilled gymnast, dedicating his movement and discipline, and all of his movement and discipline is unmatched. In nearly 500 participants in the competition, he secured an impressive All India Rank 9. Isn't that impressive? Raise your hands. Amazing! But beyond all his achievements, what truly stands out is his transformation. Becoming more disciplined, focused, and driven with every step, with a vision to become an IITian. Isn't that impressive?

Yes.

Very few people get into IIT and build a tech company that solves one of the world's biggest problems. His ambition is as powerful as his actions. He might seem quiet at first, but once you get to know him, his sharp sense of humor and easygoing nature Make him someone you'll never forget. So let's bring the energy up with a standing ovation for Dushyanth! Over to you, Dushyanth.

Thank you, everyone. Let me ask you something. If I told you that a teenager in India, just like all of us here, is already generating passive income, would you be surprised?

Yes.

I think most of you would say yes. But do you know what surprises me? Why are all of us still surprised? Because our generation is not waiting anymore. And in the next 10 minutes, I'm going to tell you exactly why. Good morning, everyone. My name is Jashan, and I'm going to be speaking about how our generation understands money. So first, I want to share with you something which stopped me in my tracks. Did you know that 40% of all investors in the National Stock Exchange of India are under the age of 30 and 28% are under the age of 25. And that's our generation, so we need to make noise. Secondly, 43% of India's GDP is driven by Gen Z alone. That is 860,000 crores worth of economic power in our hands. So I think we all need to make some noise for our generation. And by 2035, 2 lakh crores directly in our hands. So to all the parents sitting in this room, the generation you are raising, it is not the future of India's economy. It is already running a large part of it. So I want to tell you something about where I come from. I come from a business family like most of us here. My parents achieved financial freedom at the age of 26. 26! And they did not inherit it. They did not get lucky. They built it through patience, through focus, through discipline, through perseverance. And they built it so that I would not have to start from zero. so that I could stand on this stage and deliver my speech to all of you today.

Thank you.

And moving on to— I want to share something with you which I never shared to anyone before, something about me. I, the first thing I attended, the first business thing I attended was MMI when I was 6 years old. From 10 years old, I have been attending every single retreat of my parents. I've even been attending every FBR. I have attended every wealth retreat, every mindset retreat, every business retreat. I saw people transform in between me, in before me. I saw them share their struggles with my parents. I saw my parents transform them right in front of me. And that showed me one of the most powerful things I know, which is the most powerful business one can own is one that changes how someone thinks. And when— Thank you. And when you can change how someone thinks about money, trust me, you can change everything that comes after. And coming to my daily life, I go to an IIT-oriented school where the schedule starts from— I wake up at 5:30 in the morning and attend my physics tuition. After that, 8 to 6, I go to my school. By the time I come back, it's 7, and 8:30 to 9:30, I have another class. But even though I'm doing this all and I have such a hectic schedule, whenever I find free time, whenever it's a Sunday, whenever I find free time, I try to explore AI and various digital platforms. For example, 2 years ago in my mom's own video creation bootcamp— first I'll tell you what happened. It's a 3-day bootcamp where my mom makes people create 100 videos. And I went there. First day I saw people do it. Second day I saw people do it. And everyone who was there, they were slow. Like, they could do it, but they were slow. The third day I saw and I was like, if they can do it, why can't I? So on the third day, in 3 hours, I created 100 videos. Not only that, on another day after this, There's something called podcast which also my mom does. In one day, I created 30 podcasts. And I'm not doing all of this because my mom told me. And trust me, my mom never told me to create videos. My mom never told me, come attend the retreat. I am doing this because I believe in something simple and we, the teens, should all believe in something too. It is, if we receive opportunities early, We should also take responsibilities early. Secondly, after observing all these, I realized one of the most important things I know, the power of consistency. Did you know I have 2 friends? I won't tell their names. Let's think of them as Student A and Student B. So Student B is my friend who studies daily, He's one of the most disciplined students I know, and I saw him, he knows everything. And Student A, on the other hand, the day before the exam, he called me and he's like, can you please tell me the syllabus? How many of us here are like that? Please raise your hands. Yeah. So, the sad part is I shared the syllabus with him. He wrote the maths exam. After the results came, Student B, who studies only 1 hour every day consistently, he secured first rank in my class, and another student, he failed the maths exam. And that shows the power of consistency. And trust me, money, wealth, business, everything works the same way. Start small, stay consistent, let time do its work, and trust me, you will— maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but one day your business will become a success. Whatever you do will be successful if you stay consistent.

Thank you.

So, the old path is study, get a job, work for 40 years, then retire. But today, our generation, all of us teens here, are asking a different question. Why should I wait until 60 to create something impactful? Why not right now? And we are not just asking the question, we are already building systems. For example, Business is a system, and better than me, all of you sitting in this room know better than me. I don't know about all of you here, but my mom is into the— she helps business owners create digital, uh, like make them post on social media and they get leads from that. So I see in my mom, in a day, if they post a video in the day and they sleep in the night, they, by the next day, they get 5 to 500 leads. And what is the power of a system? Even when they're sleeping, they get it. That is the power of system. Secondly, artificial intelligence. So I know that 95% of the people sitting in this room have used artificial intelligence at least once. And I know that because even my grandmother uses artificial intelligence. Lastly, a digital platform is a system. 'Cause it creates value while we are offline. Now, I want to speak to every parent in this room. I want all of you to please stand up. Only the parents. Thank you. So I know you might be thinking, he's just a kid, what does he know about money? And you are right to wonder. But I know something for a fact. I know that all of you sitting here have sacrificed something so that we are here today. I know you sacrificed your time, you sacrificed sleep, you sacrificed comfort, you sacrificed certainty. You took risks when it was scary, you stayed up late when it was hard. You said yes when the whole world around you asked you to wait. And now I want all the teens beside you to stand up. Yeah. So I want all of you to tell your parents, I want you to hug them and say, thank you. Everyone, please hug your parents and say, thank you. Tell them, we feel it. Everyone, please tell them, we feel it. We see it. Thank you. Please sit down. And from the bottom of my heart, I want to tell this to all the parents, thank you. We feel it, we see it, even though we might not tell it every day. But the best way we can honor your sacrifice is by not just protecting what you have built, but by multiplying it. And all the teens in this room who are going to multiply your parents' wealth, please shout! And to all the parents who might be thinking, my child is not yet ready for the world, trust me, you are wrong because they're already building systems before they finish school. They're already thinking about legacy before they turn 20. They're already using artificial intelligence. and most of them are not yet in 10th grade now. So, your children are more than ready for the world. The question you need to ask is, is the world ready for my child? Everyone speaks about success, but I want to tell about the 4 pillars behind success. And me personally, I have learned this from the टीन समराइट बूटकैंप, सो थैंक यू कार्तिक सर। सो फर्स्ट, फोकस एंड डिसिप्लिन। व्हाट इस फोकस? फोकस हेल्प्स अस इग्नोर डिस्ट्रैक्शंस। एंड लेट मी टेल यू, फोकस इस वन ऑफ़ द मोस्ट इम्पोर्टेंट थिंग्स वी नीड राइट नाउ। बिकॉज़ वी लिव इन अ वर्ल्ड विथ अनलिमिटेड इनफॉरम Discipline makes us work even when we do not feel like it. And trust me, like I said, I attend— I wake up at 5:30 daily and attend my physics tuition. Trust me, half of the days I don't feel like waking up. But what is discipline? Even waking up when we don't feel like it. And all of the parents here, out of you, how many people are disciplined? Please raise your hands. Yeah, I think everyone should raise their hands. Okay, moving on.

Patience.

Patience reminds us that results, real results take time. So, I told you that I go to an IIT-oriented school, but I joined it when I was in 8th standard. Before that, I went till 7th class, I was in a school with all co-curricular activities, all activities, and I was in the peak of my life. I was enjoying friends, this, that, but the second I shifted to my IIT-oriented school, I was shocked because everything was so tough. And the first exam, I got -4. But in one of the most recent exams, I secured All India Rank 9. And that is the power of patience. Thank you. Last but not the least, perseverance. Perseverance is— makes— keeps you moving even when everyone allows you to tell you don't. And trust me, because like I told you, in 8th standard I joined IIT-oriented school. So I still have my old school friends. When I meet them, they tell me, why are you studying now? Enjoy life now. You are just in 9th, you are just in 10th. After going to Inter, you can study for IIT. But what is perseverance? It's pushing even though everyone around us is telling us, no, you can enjoy now. And that is also the most important skill right now.

Thank you.

So, when we say rich before 25, we don't just mean having money in our bank account. We mean understanding earlier, building earlier, creating impact earlier, because someone before us, maybe sitting in this room, took risks when it was scary, sacrificed time, sleep, comfort, and certainty so that we could stand here and speak on the stage today. And we are going to use AI, digital tools, and knowledge to multiply what the previous generation has built. And to all the teens, people around you might say, you need to wait until 40 to start a business, you need to wait until 30 to actually matter. Trust me, the world is waiting for you, because if you start right now, no one can stop you. And And many people are already, many teens are already millionaires. They're already sitting at their home typing on the laptop and making lakhs of rupees online. So you don't need to wait anymore. Lastly, I would like to say thank you to each and every one of you sitting in this room here for listening to me. for the past 10 minutes patiently. And I would really like to thank Sid, Vanita Aunty, Apoorva Aunty for firstly giving me the opportunity to speak on this stage today. And thank you for holding the space for us for the past 2 years. Thank you so much for giving us the trust, for giving us the belief that we can still create impact earlier than ever before. Thank you. Last but not the least, I would also like to thank Loretta Auntie for helping us master this speech. For all the speakers standing on the stage today have been trained by Loretta Auntie. So everyone, please give a round of applause for her. Thank you so much. Thank you, everyone.

Let's give a big round of applause for Joshua.