Meet Meagan Loyst
The Gen Z VCs founder tells all about investing, starting a company at a young age, and more.
Tell us about yourself. Where did you grow up, what were you interested in as a child?
My name is Meagan & I’m a 25 year old founder, creator, and Gen Z advocate focused on tech, innovation, and investing. I grew up in New York and graduated from Boston College in 2019, always interested in business broadly but not sure how I could turn that into a career path I really loved. My freshman year of college I had the opportunity to (a) have dinner with Warren Buffett and (b) do an incredible free summer program called Girls Who Invest which put me on the “investor” route within finance. I’ve always been super professionally oriented doing something like 10+ internships between high school and college (big believer in learning by doing), and feel so lucky to have found a career path I love right out of school. As a kid I always thought I’d be a professional soccer player! Now I spend my free time reading, writing, playing piano, and having afternoon tea with friends.
Have you always had an entrepreneurial spirit?
Yes and no – I was an “accidental founder” actually, never planning to create a global community & movement (let alone pursue it full-time)! I’ve always loved writing and highlighting under-appreciated perspectives, which led to me writing an article highlighting the voices of emerging Gen Z VCs – a term I coined – to share the key trends we were following as young investors. That article went viral, turned into a community that quickly went viral getting 1,000+ users in only 4 days, and is now a company and global movement. As far as the entrepreneurial spirit, I’ve always felt very creative – wanting to disrupt the status quo, build things and initiatives – but not having the space to do so in the corporate world. Being a founder is the perfect way to use that creative outlet and pursue real impact and change your own way vs. within an existing system that won’t give you the time and space to do so.
You’re the founder of Gen Z VCs, tell me more about that.
Gen Z VCs is the largest & fastest growing community for young people in Tech & VC globally – I like to call us Gen Z innovators. We have 20k+ members from 80 countries, and run several initiatives and events to empower the next generation of founders, operators and investors.
We’ve facilitated 6k+ job applications into Tech & VC
Have saved founders $10 million on their startup stacks
Have 350k messages in our Slack community
Mentored 350+ students from 110+ universities
Educated 1,300+ next-gen innovators live on the fundamentals of investing via our Gen Z VCs Academy “VC 101” class — you can still take the class here :)
Why did you decide to start this company?
I didn’t go to a “target school” or have parents that worked in finance to guide me or make intros – I was constantly told I didn’t have the right background to work in VC, was too young to break into investing right out of school, etc. which is fundamentally untrue. I started Gen Z VCs to make the world of investing and entrepreneurship accessible to the next generation, no matter your background or experience. Basically creating the resources, access to opportunities, and spaces to empower Gen Zers in Tech & VC in a way that didn’t exist for me even a few years ago. We’re the most diverse generation, innately focused on impact, and are digitally native – we have the power to change the world, and technology/innovation can be a big part of that solution.
Your company is really community based, why do you think that’s important?
Community is at the heart of any great company – you have some common interest or sense of belonging that brings you together, and it can be extremely powerful. It provides connection to others, access to opportunities and resources, and feels more personal than say a regular company/corporation. I think you can create a lot of impact via community as a result of that.
Another big part of your company is connecting young founders and entrepreneurs to investors, what inspired this?
There have historically been a ton of gate-keepers in the VC world and “qualifications” around what companies get funded – ie Did the founders get introduced via a warm intro? Did they drop out of Stanford? I’m a big believer in the democratization of venture capital, both making it easier for younger investors to prove themselves (validating that voice/perspective) and giving younger founders the opportunities to get in front of investors regardless of background and experience. As far as what inspired this, it just comes from being constantly underestimated because of my age, and having a fresh perspective on how broken the industry can be (especially for underrepresented groups) and ways we can actually change it.
Why do you think the gen z perspective is so important in this day and age?
When you’re looking at Gen Z, you’re looking at the future. The future of consumerism, the future of the workplace, future homebuyers, future mothers and fathers… the list goes on. So many companies are targeting, Gen Z – the future, and why shouldn’t we be a part of that? Identifying these problems, solving them with products, advising on their growth? We’re ultimately the customer, and that brings a sense of authenticity to what’s being built because we understand the product and problem better than anyone. The notion of being “built by Gen Z, for Gen Z” is becoming more and more popular, and this will only continue in the coming years.
Tell us about the investing process?
The best part about investing is you’re basically a coach – helping the world’s most innovative people change the world and serving as a guide. You’re there for the big wins, but also the big losses. It’s a job that makes you feel extremely human and let’s you work with lots of smart people, pursue several interesting spaces, and do something different every day. And at least for early stage investing, you’re really betting on people vs. markets or ideas – the founder is the most important part of the equation. It’s really awesome to be able to scout out and be the first to believe in someone, and then being there every step of the way as they grow.
Why is it important that young people start investing?
It’s the key to building wealth! And there are several ways to do it – public stocks, real estate, startups, etc. The key is finding ways that work for you, and the reality is angel investing in startups is becoming more accessible and can be really fun. Imagine being on the ground floor of Snapchat, TikTok, Robinhood, Glossier on day 1… angel investing provides that opportunity. It can be very risky so not everyone does it (many startups fail), but it’s becoming more and more popular with younger folks looking to break into investing.
How can young people begin to invest?
So many ways! You can invest via platforms like Republic where you can invest as little as $50 into cool startups like TBH (alternative hazelnut spread founded by Noah Schnapp). You can start dipping your toes into the investment world by meeting founders & organizing investment syndicates, which opens the door into being a fund manager. You can pursue the career path of a VC and invest full-time, or you can day trade on apps like Robinhood or Public where you’re trading public stocks. So many ways to get your feet wet!
Where can people learn more about you and what you are doing?
Honestly the best places to follow along on my journey are on socials – LinkedIn has become my favorite platform as of late, although I’m starting to grow my TikTok as well! As much as I’m a full-time Founder/CEO, I consider myself to be a full-time content creator as well and share a ton about the things I’m learning as a founder + Gen Z-focused content. I’m 25 and have a ton to learn, but I’m enjoying every minute and love seeing other young people take the non-traditional path to explore their passion and change the world while doing it.
Photos by Hadi Yazdani
