Experienced Beginner

— Teen Savers

Fintech tools are making personal finance increasingly accessible. Money management is no longer a milestone in maturity. Younger generations like Gen Alpha and Gen Z are champing at the bit. They don’t want to wait to find out more, and even the less they want to rely on Mum and Dad’s bank. Financially unprepared, but digitally hyper-educated, digital natives are looking for technological solutions that help them save and spend better.

That’s why new financial apps dedicated to the very young blossom. GoHenry for example, with a core target ranging from 6 to 18 years old, is experiencing great success both in the United States and in the UK. On the one hand, the very young come to terms with it all and put the prepaid debit card in their pockets, on the other, parents are reassured by an App that guarantees them control, responsibility and constant traceability of their kids’ expenses. A new family economy, all to be redesigned.

— Start-Up at World’s End

Soon the photos of the Northern Lights will replace Capri and Greek beaches even in the family albums. More and more people are looking for extreme adventure and go to the world’s ends just for a vacation (and a couple of Instagram posts). This creates new opportunities for start-ups specializing in “Escape Experience”. The Secret Compass, for instance, is both a travel agency and a production company specializing in projects at the world’s end. Jungles, deserts and remote polar regions.

The common thread is “high-risk & extreme projects”. Just as the explorers of the past, only with a smartphone instead of a rifle. But are we sure we can be at the same time office creatures and Bengal tigers? And will we continue to experience the same attraction for “the dark side of the Earth” once it will be on everyone’s Instagram profile, or will we have already moved on to the next trend?

— It’s Great to Suck at Something

When did you last try something new? Wait, not just anything. It needs to be something you quite suck at, but which nevertheless brought you joy. Something that fuelled your passion, not your ego. We live in an era of performance psychosis, with an obsessive pursuit of perfection. We constantly complain about too much work but keep choosing productivity over happiness.

Going back to being a beginner means feeling joy in the process, without being obsessed with the result. The big challenge of starting over is to accept that you can fail. Once, ten, a hundred times. Because to be a “successful beginner” you need not only great courage but also some experience.