Battle of the Ages: Gen Z vs Boomer

Battle of the Ages: Gen Z vs Boomer

Starting a Business — You’re Never Too Young and You’re Never Too Old

Jessy — 22, bio-engineering entrepreneur whose company generated $2M last year
Kim — experienced 71 year old executive and entrepreneur launching a new sunscreen company

Join two BEAM entrepreneurs from different generations for a practical conversation about starting a business. Jessy, a 22-year-old bio-engineering founder whose company generated $2M in revenue last year, and Kim, 71, a seasoned corporate executive turned entrepreneur, launching a new sunscreen company, will share their experiences, lessons learned, and perspectives on building a business at very different stages of life.

If you’ve ever thought about starting a business — or are in the early stages — this discussion will provide real-world insights, encouragement, and practical takeaways.

Workshop takeaways:

– Start even before you feel ready, and get comfortable with hearing “No.”
– Know when to pivot and when to persevere. No “great” idea needs to be forced; it’s down to execution.
– Always keep learning, stay self-aware, and take feedback seriously.
– Leverage the resources and expertise around you – you don’t have to do everything yourself.

There is no perfect age to start a business — success comes from execution, persistence, and learning as you go.

Entrepreneurs at any stage face similar challenges — validating the idea, finding customers, and building something people will pay for

Mentorship and community accelerate progress — surrounding yourself with experienced people dramatically improves your chances of success.

Presenters:
Jessy Gonzalez

Born and raised in San Jose, CA, Jessy is a recent UCSB alum with a background in biotechnology and extreme fungi. He bootstrapped his first business, a landscaping company, at 13 years old to avoid working in the strawberry/citrus fields. While in college, he co-founded and sold a biotech startup focused on cell-free protein manufacturing in 2023. He is now developing DampGuard, a new venture helping residents in San Jose and now the greater Santa Barbara area protect their properties against hidden fungi (like mold!).

Jessy is a researcher, and entrepreneur with a background in chemical engineering, particularly fungal biotechnologies. He has spent over five years working at the California NanoSystems Institute and NASA Ames Research Center. As a serial founder, he has built businesses in landscaping ($400K ARR) and biotech (~$1.5M in revenue to date). He is now building Dryvera, a new venture focused on helping residents protect their properties from hidden moisture-related fungi like mold.

Kim E Cooper

Retired Corporate Executive, Co-Founder of Solavida

During a 40+ year career in marketing services, I built and lead sales and business develop teams for leading global organizations. During that time, I personally lead winning new business initiatives with some of the world’s largest retail and CPG brands, including Nike, Dial, Henkel, Bacardi, Safeway, Walmart, Dollar General, Amazon.com, Lowe’s, Lidl U.S. and Rite Aid, as well as others.

Four years ago, at my retirement party in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, a seed of an idea was planted that eventually lead my wife and I, as co-founders, to build a suncare products company called Solavida LLC. As of February, we officially launched the Solavida brand, with product now in market.