How to communicate with Gen Z: “Be more vulnerable than you think you need to be”

Fortune Brainstorm Tech panelists, left to right: Suraya Shivji, Zehra Naqvi, Marc Baghadjian, and Alexandra Debow.

Each generation experiences the others as something of a mystery.

And Gen Z certainly has its enigmas: What’s with the chill? How do you catch a vibe? And what ultimately makes something hit different? But here’s something that’s clear: the numbers, which show that Gen Z’s influence and purchasing power are on the rise. Consider: Gen Z commands more than $450 billion in global spending power, and some studies show that even those who are still teenagers are spending.

At 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, over breakfast potatoes and coffee, four Gen Z founders and investors took the Fortune Brainstorm Tech stage to talk about what it means to communicate effectively with their cohort, and what their generation actually values.

“For a lot of my friends who’ve just graduated college and are starting their first jobs, they’re going much more on values and vibes than pay and prestige,” said Alexandra Debow, CEO and cofounder of photo sharing social app swsh. That Goldman Sachs job is all fine and good, but if the vibes are off, Gen Zers would simply rather be somewhere where they like the people and are treated well, Debow added.

This dynamic emerged in all sorts of ways throughout the conversation. When thinking about Gen Z customers, lifestyle in the truest sense of the term is deeply important. Yes, Gen Z has “mimetic desire” as Debow deftly put it—they want the houses, cars, and pools they see on social media. But this also means lifestyle in the more literal sense of the term: Do you feel good, at ease in your day-to-day life?

“We care about lifestyle at the end of the day,” said investor Marc Baghadjian, CEO and cofounder at Sam Altman-backed Hypercard. “It doesn’t matter who you are. At the core of it, your lifestyle is the most important thing.”

Sure, you might be reading this thinking: Values and vibes? Lifestyle? What am I supposed to do with that? (At least one study shows that 74% of business leaders say they struggle working with Gen Z.) But dismissing their rhetoric also ignores harsh realities. This is a generation whose formative years played out in the isolation of COVID-19, and amid escalating political polarization and economic uncertainty. Gen Z is more likely than any to have (or need) a side hustle, and their struggles with mental health are well-documented: Gen Z’s suicide rates are astonishingly high. They’ve also lived all their lives with social media—which emerged in the conversation as the ultimate double-edged sword.

On one hand, social media has made so much possible that was once impossible. For example, Baghadjian vividly recounted the story of a TikTok influencer who gained millions of views posting about her Chick-fil-A job. Though Chick-fil-A fired her, Baghadjian says Shake Shack swiftly picked her up.

On the other hand, social media has often left them grasping for a life that doesn’t exist.

“Social media can be very isolating for Gen Z,” said Zehra Naqvi, Headline Ventures investor and founder of The Z List, a community for early-stage founders and VCs. “It’s not social at all as an individual experience. You’re just consuming other people’s lives.”

“It’s a little unfair for young people to have to have so much self-discipline at such a young age around these interfaces,” said Snap designer and engineer Suraya Shivji, who’s also founder of high school-focused app HAGS. “It’s like candy. You’re always gonna want to have it.”

At the end of the session, the panelists went down the line offering advice to executives about communicating with Gen Z. Baghadjian doubled down on the importance of lifestyle, while Debow reminded the audience that Gen Z wants to be in-person, too: “I think so much communication gets lost on text.”

“Be more vulnerable than you think you need to be,” said Naqvi.

“Just be chill over coffee,” Shivji added.

I’ll come clean: I overall find Gen Z really compelling for their commitment to authenticity and humor about the awkwardness of being alive. (I’m also an undeniable fan of poetically messy Gen Z pop stars.)

But I’m also a hustle culture millennial—so of course I think there’s such a thing as too much chill. Still, at the end of the hour, I understood something I didn’t before: If you think Gen Z’s insistence on chill is rhetoric or laziness, you’re missing the point.

Chill is their rebellion.

See you tomorrow,

Allie Garfinkle

Twitter:

Email: alexandra.garfinkle@fortune.com

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VENTURE DEALS

- Aven, a San Francisco-based company that offers home equity-backed credit cards to consumers, raised $142 million in Series D funding. Khosla Ventures and General Catalyst led the round and were joined by existing investors Caffeinated Capital, Electric Capital, Founders Fund, and The General Partnership.

- Kandji, a San Francisco-based device management and security platform for Apple products, raised $100 million in funding from General Catalyst.

- CytoReason, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based developer of a disease model designed to compare treatments, patient groups, and disease mechanisms, raised $80 million from OurCrowd, NVIDIA, Pfizer, and Thermo Fisher.

- Truvian Health, a San Diego, Calif.-based blood testing platform designed to combine multiple tests into a single test with immediate results, raised $74 million in funding. Wittington Ventures and Great Point Ventures led the round and was joined by existing investors DNS Capital, Medical Excellence Capital, Tao Capital, TYH Capital, and 7wireVentures.

- Peak Energy, a Denver, Colo. and San Francisco-based developer of energy storage technology, raised $55 million in Series A funding. Xora Innovation led the round and was joined by Eclipse, TDK Ventures, Lachy Groom, and others.

- Again, a Copenhagen, Denmark and Berlin, Germany-based company designed to capture carbon dioxide and turn it into carbon negative chemicals, raised $43 million in Series A funding. GV and HV Capital led the round and was joined by Kompas VC, EIFO, ACME Capital, and Atlantic Labs.

- Freshpaint, a San Francisco-based health care privacy platform, raised $30.7 million in Series B funding. Threshold led the round and was joined by SignalFire and existing investors Intel Capital, Y Combinator, and Zero Prime.

- Leya, a Stockholm, Sweden-based provider of AI-powered legal technology, raised $25 million in Series A funding. Redpoint Ventures led the round and was joined by Benchmark, YC, Wayfinder Ventures, and Alt Capital.

- Quatt, an Amsterdam, The Netherlands-based producer of smart heat pumps, raised €25 million ($27.3 million) in funding. Blue Earth Capital led the round and was joined by Seaya Andromeda and existing investor Impact Equity Fund.

- Thoughtful AI, an Austin, Texas-based developer of agents designed for revenue cycle automation teams at health care providers, raised $20 million in Series A funding. Nick Solaro of Drive Capital led the round and was joined by TriplePoint Capital.

- Allium, a New York City-based blockchain data platform designed for enterprise use, raised $16.5 million in Series A funding. Theory Ventures led the round and was joined by existing investors Kleiner Perkins and Amplify Partners.

- OnRamp, a Boston, Mass.-based customer onboarding platform, raised $14.2 million across seed and Series A rounds. Javelin Venture Partners led the Series A round, Contour Venture Partners led the seed round, and Pear VC, Quiet Capital, Correlation Ventures, and others joined.

- Shaped.ai, a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based AI-powered recommendation and search company, raised $8 million in Series A funding. Madrona Ventures led the round and was joined by Y-Combinator and others.

- Didero, a New York City-based AI agent designed to automate supply chain workflows, raised $7 million in seed funding. First Round Capital led the round and was joined by Construct Capital, AI Grant, Box Group, Company Ventures, and Conviction.

- ReliON, a Montréal and Ottawa, Canada-based provider of operations and maintenance services for EV charging infrastructure, raised CAD $3 million ($2.2 million) in funding. Diagram Ventures led the round and was joined by MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund, AQC Capital, Anges Québec, and Cycle Momentum.

- Luscid, a London, U.K.-based platform that uses AI to deploy sponsorship and marketing budgets to sports and entertainment, raised $1.2 million in seed funding from angel investors including Craig Pollard.

PRIVATE EQUITY

- NGP and Sandbrook Capital invested $300 million in Cloverleaf Infrastructure, a Houston, Texas and Seattle, Wash.-based infrastructure sites developer.

- Warburg Pincus acquired a minority stake in Matera, a São Paulo, Brazil-based banking software provider, for $100 million.

- The Avenue Sports Fund acquired a minority stake in Trackhouse Entertainment Group, a Nashville, Tenn.-based company that fields NASCAR and MotoGP teams. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- Aurora Solar, backed by Coatue Management, acquired Lyra, a Santa Cruz, Calif.-based provider of automation software for the solar permit process. financial terms were not disclosed.

- Deel, backed by Coatue Management, acquired Hofy, a London, U.K.-based device supply and management company. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- Granite Creek Capital Partners acquired a minority stake in Madwire, a Fort Collins, Colo.-based provider of business management and marketing software. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- Liberty Service Partners, backed by NorthCurrent Partners, acquired Easy Electrical Solutions, a Columbia, S.C.-based electrical services contractor. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- Neovera, backed by 424 Capital, Eagle Private Capital, Plexus Capital, acquired Emagined Security, a San Carlos, Calif.-based professional services provider to information security and compliance companies. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- PathFactory, backed by Vertu Capital, acquired Uberflip, a Toronto, Canada-based content marketing platform. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- Platinum Equity acquired a majority stake in Motors & Armatures, a Hauppauge, N.Y.-based distributor of HVAC/R parts, supplies, and equipment. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- RESA Power, backed by Investcorp, acquired PCA Valence, a Calgary and Edmonton, Canada-based electrical services company. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- Snowhawk acquired a majority stake in SecureVision, a fiber connectivity provider for resort communities on the Florida and Alabama shore. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- Wafra acquired a minority stake in Triple Private Equity, a London, U.K. and Copenhagen, Denmark-based private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.

EXITS

- nVent Electric (NYSE: NVT) acquired a majority interest in Trachte, an Oregon, Wis.-based manufacturer of steel substation control buildings and electrical equipment enclosures, from Palladium Equity Partners, for $695 million.

FUNDS + FUNDS OF FUNDS

- CCMP Growth Advisors, a New York City-based private equity firm, raised more than $500 million for their fourth fund focused on North American consumer and industrial companies.

PEOPLE

- Olympus Partners, a Stamford, Conn.-based private equity firm, promoted Rabela Bodini and Heather Deng to vice presidents.