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Time of India
01-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
‘Makes me want to pull my hair out': This $12 billion company boss says he's frustrated with Gen Z employees-but…
When Charlie Noyes , then a 19-year-old MIT dropout, showed up five hours late to his first morning meeting at Paradigm , most employers might have sent him packing. Instead, the $12 billion San Francisco-based crypto investment firm saw something others didn't. Today, Noyes is a general partner at the company at just 25. #Pahalgam Terrorist Attack Nuclear Power! How India and Pakistan's arsenals stack up Does America have a plan to capture Pakistan's nuclear weapons? Airspace blockade: India plots a flight path to skip Pakistan 'From his messages, I thought he was a 40-year-old with a beard, very cynical and craggy,' said Matt Huang , co-founder of Paradigm, recalling their first interaction in a Telegram chat about Bitcoin Cash forks. 'When he showed up to dinner, I was really surprised he was 19.' That first impression was only the beginning. Noyes had already been steeped in crypto since the age of 12, discovering Bitcoin through gaming forums. He'd published research in crypto applications and won Intel's science competition twice — before ever stepping foot in a university. After briefly attending MIT, he dropped out to join Paradigm. 5 5 Next Stay Playback speed 1x Normal Back 0.25x 0.5x 1x Normal 1.5x 2x 5 5 / Skip Ads by Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Villas For Sale in Dubai Might Surprise You Villas In Dubai | Search Ads View Deals Undo At first, the workplace wasn't quite what Noyes expected. 'He thought opining on pitch decks over email and coming to the office once a week was normal,' Huang told Colossus. But once expectations were made clear, Noyes thrived. By 2020, he had already identified MEV (Miner Extractable Value) as a critical issue in blockchain architecture, leading Paradigm to invest in Flashbots — a key player now shaping Ethereum's $450 billion ecosystem. Unconventional minds, powerful impact But Noyes is just one example in Paradigm's line-up of unconventional hires. The firm's Chief Technology Officer, Georgios Konstantopoulos, joined two years after graduating college in 2018 and is now regarded as one of the most prolific engineers in the crypto world. Then there's a developer known only by his Discord handle, transmissions11, reportedly discovered by the firm while still in school. Live Events 'They create an absurd amount of chaos sometimes and you want to pull your hair out,' said Huang. 'But then you see what they can do and it's like, holy crap. Nobody else in the world could do that.' In fact, Huang likens his job to something out of a comic book: 'Sometimes I feel like I'm running the X-Men Academy .' A broader trend across industries Paradigm is not alone in betting on younger, unfiltered talent. Gen Z, born between the late 1990s and early 2010s, has a growing reputation for clashing with traditional office culture. Late arrivals, refusal to work unpaid overtime, and demands for quick promotions are some of the common complaints. According to a survey by Intelligent, one in six companies hesitates to hire Gen Z workers. Even some Gen Zers admit their generation is the hardest to work with. Still, the very qualities that make Gen Z challenging also give them an edge in fast-moving industries. 'They bring a unique blend of talent and bold ideas that can rejuvenate any workforce,' said Geoffrey Scott, senior hiring manager at Resume Genius. 'Gen Zers might have a bad rep, but they have the power to transform workplaces for the better.' Adapt or be left behind Psychologist Tobba Vigfusdottir, who heads the workplace wellness platform Kara Connect, warns that companies unwilling to adapt may fall behind. 'Companies really need to wake up and smell the coffee,' she told Fortune. 'The companies that will survive are listening and letting them in, because they're changing things.' According to Vigfusdottir, organisations should offer more flexible working policies, environmentally conscious practices, and jobs with clear purpose if they want to attract and retain Gen Z talent — especially as baby boomers exit the workforce. Other big names betting on Gen Z Matt Huang isn't the only one making bold bets on Gen Z. Thrive Capital founder Josh Kushner, who launched his firm at 26, says he prefers hiring people with less than four years of experience. At the time, he knew older industry veterans wouldn't want to work for someone so young, so he instead hired 'the smartest people that we knew who were our ages.' That approach led Thrive Capital to early investments in major companies — including OpenAI, now valued at over $300 billion. Even today, Kushner continues to favour younger hires. 'I'd still rather find that young, hungry person who's willing to run through walls like we were ten years ago.' best known for fronting the Black Eyed Peas, is another high-profile Gen Z backer. A seasoned tech investor who got in early on Tesla, OpenAI, and Pinterest, he believes the next wave of breakthroughs will come from young minds at institutions like MIT and Stanford. 'They're young kids, and they're native to this,' told Fortune. 'So you want to hunt for that. That's the only thing I'm focused on.' While many employers may still be cautious around Gen Z, leaders like Huang, Kushner, and are embracing their creativity, curiosity, and disruptive energy. The chaos they bring may be maddening, but it's also fuelling the next generation of transformative innovation. As Matt Huang put it plainly: 'Nobody else in the world could do that.'
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Co-founder of $12 billion crypto company says Gen Z new hires ‘create an absurd amount of chaos' and make him want to pull his hair out—but he's betting on them anyway
Paradigm CEO Matt Huang feels like he's 'running the X-Men Academy'. While other leaders complain about their Gen Z new hires, the $12 billion crypto company chief is going against the grain and promoting them into the C-suite. It's no secret that Gen Z often gets flak for showing up late to work, ghosting job interviews, refusing to do put in any overtime for free, and demanding senior titles and work-life balance before they've really earned it. Some bosses are fed up—firing fresh-faced Gen Z grads just months in and branding the whole cohort 'unprofessional.' Even Gen Z workers have described themselves as the hardest generation to work with. 'They create an absurd amount of chaos sometimes and you want to pull your hair out,' echoes Matt Huang, the cofounder of the $12 billion crypto investment firm Paradigm. 'But then you see what they can do and it's like, holy crap,' he told Colossus Review. 'Nobody else in the world could do that.' Case in point: Paradigm's first hire, Charlie Noyes, was a 19-year-old MIT dropout who walked into his first 10 a.m. meeting five hours late. Fast forward to today, and Noyes is a general partner at the crypto company at just 25. He identified MEV as a pivotal blockchain issue in 2020 and became the lead investor in Flashbots, whose infrastructure now touches nearly every transaction on Ethereum and has established critical market rules for the $450 billion ecosystem. In 2020, Noyes was the one who saw MEV as a critical blockchain issue, leading Paradigm to become the lead investor in Flashbots—a company whose infrastructure now touches nearly every transaction on Ethereum and has established key market rules in the $450 billion ecosystem. And Noyes isn't the only bright young mind making waves at Paradigm. Georgios Konstantopoulos, the firm's CTO, joined the company just two years after graduating college in 2018 and has since become one of crypto's most prolific engineers. Then there's the developer known only by his Discord handle, transmissions11, whom Paradigm reportedly found while he was still in high school. 'Sometimes I feel like I'm running the X-Men Academy,' Huang jokes, referencing the eccentric minds on his team—young mutants whose exceptional skills make all the chaos worth it. Fortune has reached out to Huang for comment. Like most generations did before them—millennials will remember being labeled work-shy snowflakes before climbing the corporate ranks into management—Gen Zers have gained a reputation for being difficult to work with. A survey of more than 960 employers from Intelligent revealed that one in six companies were hesitant to hire a Gen Z worker. But the same research that describes the youngest generation of workers as the hardest to work with, also notes that much is to be learned from them—and that perhaps the corporate world is long overdue a shakeup. 'They bring a unique blend of talent and bold ideas that can rejuvenate any workforce,' wrote Geoffrey Scott, senior hiring manager at Resume Genius. 'Gen Zers might have a bad rep, but they have the power to transform workplaces for the better.' Because if companies don't adapt, they risk getting left behind. Tobba Vigfusdottir, a psychologist and the CEO of Kara Connect, a workplace well-being platform, recently told Fortune that employers need to bend to Gen Z's desires (read: flexible work policies, sustainability pledges and purpose-driven work) if they want to stay competitive after the baby boomers retire. 'Companies really need to wake up and smell the coffee,' Vigfusdottir warned. 'The companies that will survive are listening and letting them in, because they're changing things.' Huang's not the only future-thinking leader betting on the disruptive energy of Gen Z. The multimillionaire rapper and songwriter and Thrive Capital's founder Josh Kushner are betting on the bright young minds of tomorrow too. In fact, Kushner previously told Fortune he specifically likes to hire people with less than 4 years of industry experience. When he launched the venture capital firm at just 26, he faced pressure to bring in older, more seasoned hires. But, as he put it, 'anyone who has experience that is talented will never want to work with a 26-year-old.' So, instead, he recruited the 'smartest people that we knew who were our ages.' And that bet paid off: His firm made early investments in startups worth billions, including OpenAI, which was recently valued at $300 billion. These days, Kushner could easily hire industry veterans with glowing résumés—but he'd still rather 'find that young, hungry person who's willing to run through walls like we were ten years ago.' has reached a similar conclusion. The Grammy-winning Black Eyed Peas frontman might be best known for his chart-topping hits, but behind the scenes, he's a serious investor too. He backed Tesla, OpenAI, and Pinterest before they became household names—and now, he's betting on Gen Z for his next investment. Why? He believes the next big breakthroughs in tech will come from young innovators at MIT and Stanford. 'They're young kids, and they're native to this,' told Fortune. 'So you want to hunt for that. That's the only thing I'm focused on.' This story was originally featured on Sign in to access your portfolio
