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Fox News
7 hours ago
- Fox News
I'm Gen Z and many in my generation lost faith in the American Dream. Prove them wrong
Gen Z is on the verge of opting out. Not out of laziness — out of disillusionment. We've inherited a roadmap that no longer leads anywhere, and for many of us, the American Dream feels more like a bedtime story than a blueprint for life. I know this because I almost walked away from it too. But I didn't. And now I'm building the tools to make sure others don't have to. I'm 23 years old, a first-generation American. My parents came here from China in the late '90s, carrying little more than hope and an oversized suitcase. They believed — maybe more than anything — that hard work meant opportunity. They didn't have much, but they had that belief. And through discipline and what I now recognize as unimaginable sacrifice, they carved out a life that gave me the freedom to dream bigger than they ever could. That dream led me to pave my own way. I started investing in 2nd grade with a custodian account I begged my parents to open. I dropped out of high school to build and sell my first company, a virtual reality startup. I then found myself starting Harvard at the height of the pandemic. From my dorm room, I participated in the COVID investing boom -- memestocks, crypto, super-star fund managers… I embraced it all. And the eventual collapse of the mania inspired me to take action. I dropped out to build dub, a fintech platform to help all Americans invest with more clarity and confidence. In many ways, I'm living proof that the American Dream is still possible. But I know I'm an outlier. And unless we make bold changes — fast — my generation will stop believing it's even worth trying. We recently partnered with Harris Poll to ask Americans how they really feel about their financial future. What we found is sobering. Sixty percent of Gen Z no longer believe a traditional 9-to-5 job will get them to their financial goals. Forty-three percent say side hustles are essential. Forty-one percent believe you have to be an entrepreneur just to make it. And something that hit me hard: only about half of Gen Z still sees owning a home as a meaningful financial milestone. For many of us, success isn't a white picket fence. It's paying off debt. Supporting our parents. Having breathing room. The old roadmap — graduate, get a job, buy a house — sounds like fiction in today's economy. I'm living proof that the American Dream is still possible. But I know I'm an outlier. And unless we make bold changes — fast — my generation will stop believing it's even worth trying. This isn't laziness. It's adaptation. We're rising costs, shrinking wages, and an education system that never taught us how money works. We're the "FinTok Generation" — 62% of us turn to social media for financial advice. Not because it's ideal — but because it's all we've got. We didn't grow up with financial advisors. So we take what we can get — TikToks, Reddit threads, group chats. And we're not just passively watching. Sixty percent of Gen Z is already investing outside of retirement accounts. Sixty-five percent believe that's our best shot at building wealth. But only 17% of Americans say they actually feel confident in how the stock market works. We're out here trying. But we're often guessing. And the tools we're using? A mixed bag. Seventy-two percent of Americans believe fintech has made investing more accessible — and it has. But too many of those platforms profit off confusion. They push people toward options trades, meme stocks, FOMO bets. That's not investing. That's gambling in a suit. I built dub to flip that script. Instead of blindly investing, dub lets users copy the trades of real investors with real investing strategies. No hype. No TikTok influencers peddling the next billion dollar meme coin. Just transparency, long-term investing, and real expertise. And it only takes $100 to start. We're actually not re-inventing the wheel. We're democratizing what the wealthy already have: access to expertise. Rich people don't DIY their investments — they hire fancy wealth managers and invest with elite hedge funds. We're making that experience available for all Americans. You no longer need wealth to build wealth. Anyone can now outsource the hard work of investing in a single tap. But this isn't just about dub. It's a wake-up call to every company building for Gen Z. We're tired of being monetized to the brink. Tired of platforms profiting from the very confusion they create. Tired of watching tools that could empower our generation instead exploit us for short-term gains. It's why I built dub: to prove that mission-driven companies can create a brighter, more optimistic future — not just for shareholders, but for entire generations. If even 1% of Americans learn to invest better, we begin to show that anyone, from any background, can participate in the greatest wealth engine ever created: the American stock market. Why do I call out other industry leaders? Because I've lived the alternative. My family came to Detroit with $10,000 a year and lived in section 8 housing — and today, I'm building one of the fastest-growing investing platforms in New York City. That's the American Dream. And it shouldn't stop with me. But to keep it alive, we need to build differently. We need to stop creating products that amplify the worst of human nature and profit off the confusion of my generation. We need tools that give Gen Z a reason to believe again — in the system, in themselves, and in the future of this country. We're redefining the Dream. I'm here to lead the way. But I can't do it alone. Here's how we unlock the American Dream for Gen Z in 2025. 1. Build the right tools. Tech companies must stop profiting off risky behavior. Build tools that feel native to Gen Z, but nudge us toward long-term investing, not YOLO bets. 2. Teach financial literacy like it's life or death — because it is. Start from the moment our children can read. Teach compounding. Teach ownership. Teach debt and credit. These are not electives. They're survival skills. 3. Make ownership the new norm. Let every American feel — not just hear — that they're part of this country's wealth engine. When we own a piece of innovation, we believe in its future. If Gen Z stops believing in the American Dream, we don't just lose a generation. We lose the future of this country. But I believe we're not beyond repair. When Gen Z sees a real path — we take it. We grind. We build. We help each other up. But if the path stays hidden or rigged, we'll stop walking it altogether. And we'll build a different one instead. The American Dream made me. Now I'm working to make sure I'm not the last.
Business Insider
8 hours ago
- Business Insider
The Hugo Spritz and the Spaghett battle it out for cocktail of the summer
Welcome back to our Sunday edition, where we round up some of our top stories and take you inside our newsroom. Gen- who? Gen Xers are often excluded from generational conversations. We've played into this, too. In the past year alone, BI has published 166 stories about Gen Z, 123 about millennials, 97 stories about boomers — and only 34 about the "forgotten generation." Sorry, Gen X! On the agenda today: The story behind Blackstone's viral barricaded office photo. Inside the million-dollar tree war that's brewing among New England's elite. Starbucks' new office is a 5-minute drive from the CEO's home. Internal guidelines reveal how much Microsoft pays new hires. But first: The debate of the summer. If this was forwarded to you, sign up here. Download Business Insider's app here. This week's dispatch Jacky Zarra The hottest cocktail of the season is … This summer's battle for beverage supremacy isn't your typical cocktail clash. In one corner, there's the Hugo Spritz. It's a mixture of prosecco and club soda. The addition of elderflower liqueur makes this sweet, low-ABV drink stand out. This Aperol Spritz successor is all over TikTok. Yelp queries and Google searches for it have jumped. In the other is the Spaghett: a brash, no-frills concoction born for the dive bar. It consists of Miller High Life beer, a splash of Aperol, and a lemon. It's cheap and quickly becoming a cult classic: Google Trends and bar tabs alike show it gaining real traction. So, which is better? And which should be crowned drink of the summer? BI's Emily Stewart sees the Spaghett as more than a quirky cocktail. She says it has broader economic ramifications, specifically as a potential recession indicator. "Trading down from an Aperol Spritz to a Spaghett usually puts a few bills back in your pocket," she writes. "And swapping a basic beer for a Spaghett won't break the bank — especially when the beer was budget-friendly to begin with." Yet our colleague Callie Ahlgrim says we shouldn't underestimate the compelling visual the Hugo Spritz evokes, particularly in the social-media era. She said the drink is "perfectly engineered for virality." So, what'll it be: elegance in a glass, or a buzzy, beer hack that doubles as an economic signal? This season's drink of choice says as much about your vibe as it does your wallet. What do you think? Email us your thoughts at today@ — and check out Emily and Callie's video on the debate. Behind the Blackstone photo Following the deadly New York City office shooting that cut four victims' lives short, a haunting image of a furniture barricade at Blackstone's headquarters became emblematic of the tragedy. One person familiar with the matter told BI that Blackstone employees moved quickly and worked together to pile everything up, including a refrigerator. Employees also barricaded themselves inside closets, bathrooms, and conference rooms, another person familiar with the matter said, with some hunkering down until 10 p.m. when authorities cleared the building. "It was a long day." Trouble in the trees In New England's most exclusive coastal enclaves, neighbors are feuding over ocean views — and cutting down each other's trees to get to them. The timber wars don't come cheap. Cases of unauthorized chopping and poisoning, known as "timber trespass," have sparked bitter legal feuds among the wealthy and sometimes resulted in seven-figure payouts. Splintered paradise. The 5-minute commute Starbucks' newest office is a 4,624-square-foot space just minutes from CEO Brian Niccol's Southern California home. It's 1,200 miles away from the company's headquarters in Seattle, where corporate employees are under a four-day return-to-office order. The California office, nicknamed "Project Sunshine," was part of Niccol's compensation package, built so he wouldn't have to commute across states daily. Views of the Pacific coast. Also read: Microsoft's pay guidelines, revealed The company's internal pay guidelines obtained by BI's Ashley Stewart shed light on how much the tech giant generally offers new hires, including pay ranges for engineers and researchers in the US. Microsoft's pay documents include a carve-out for competitive situations, though. Recruiters can seek approval for higher offers for exceptional candidates. Breaking down pay by levels. How much do tech employees make? See salary data from top tech companies. This week's quote: "It really is the case that if you give people more bedrooms in their apartments, they're more interested in having children." — Lyman Stone, a coauthor of a recent report by the Institute for Family Studies, on why the real estate market is driving down the birth rate. More of this week's top reads: Sex sells. So does outrage. Sydney Sweeney's "great jeans" ads cash in on both. Was Jeffrey Epstein a spy? There's nothing about that in the Epstein files, sources say. I went to Figma's IPO. It turned Wall Street into a literal block party. Parents of college kids are getting unhinged in their group chats. I'm a career coach. Applying for jobs should be the last step in your job hunt process. CNBC's "The Profit" ended with legal acrimony and an $11 million payout. Its host is now back on TV.
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
1 Green Flag for Dutch Bros Stock Right Now
Key Points Dutch Bros is cleverly centering its marketing strategy around winning over the Gen Z generation, and it's working. Starbucks is experiencing declining same-store sales, while Dutch Bros is growing. 10 stocks we like better than Dutch Bros › After disappointing performance following its initial public offering in 2021, Dutch Bros (NYSE: BROS) rewarded investors' patience with the stock rocketing higher. At the time of writing, the stock has climbed nearly 90% since 2023. However, there's one green flag that says Dutch Bros is on its way to delivering monster returns for long-term investors. Gen Z loves Dutch Bros Dutch Bros registration filing at the time of its IPO disclosed that only 23% of its customers were over the age of 36 and 67% were female. Brands that connect with Gen Z are in a great position to drive long-term growth, and Dutch Bros has tailored its strategy to win their loyalty. It offers competitive pricing for its "handcrafted" beverages, which includes colorful names like Cotton Candy and Bubblegum Rebel, which appeal to a younger crowd. Its momentum with this young demographic could explain why Starbucks is having trouble growing sales. In the first quarter, posted systemwide same-store sales for Dutch Bros increased by 4.7% year over year, marking the ninth consecutive quarter of positive comp sales growth. Starbucks has delivered six consecutive quarters of declining comp sales, with North America comps down 2% year over year in the most recent quarter. This represents an impressive market share gain for Dutch Bros, which doesn't have nearly the geographic diversity that Starbucks has. Dutch Bros has just over 1,000 shops open in 18 states but plans to have more than 2,000 by 2029. Is the stock a buy right now? It's another good sign for Dutch Bros that McDonald's venture into the specialty beverage market with CosMc's failed. Dutch Bros has tremendous brand power, excellent management, and brilliant marketing. The stock is still worth buying. It was undervalued over a year ago, trading at a low price-to-sales multiple, which led to the rerating by investors. It is now trading at a more appropriate sales multiple for its growth potential. As it continues to grow, margins will likely expand and earnings per share will likely take off. This looks like a great long-term investment. Do the experts think Dutch Bros is a buy right now? The Motley Fool's expert analyst team, drawing on years of investing experience and deep analysis of thousands of stocks, leverages our proprietary Moneyball AI investing database to uncover top opportunities. They've just revealed their to buy now — did Dutch Bros make the list? When our Stock Advisor analyst team has a stock recommendation, it can pay to listen. After all, Stock Advisor's total average return is up 1,019% vs. just 178% for the S&P — that is beating the market by 841.12%!* Imagine if you were a Stock Advisor member when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $624,823!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,064,820!* The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 29, 2025 John Ballard has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Starbucks. The Motley Fool recommends Dutch Bros. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 1 Green Flag for Dutch Bros Stock Right Now was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
