6 startups reveal the secret to attracting Generation Z customers
By Chris Morris | Published: 2025-11-02 12:00:00 | Source: Inc.com
Winning the hearts and loyalty of Generation Z is an uphill battle. As the first digital natives, these young people have grown up with an endless stream of apps – to shop, work, learn, date and make friends online. Gen Z has made TikTok a dominant force in social media and is passionate about their interests, from K-pop to climate change.
A lot of startups have tried to appeal to this demographic, and many have failed. But a select few startups have found success in recent years by targeting areas of particular interest to Generation Z. Here’s a look at how some entrepreneurial companies have succeeded in attracting these buyers.
Footnotes
Founded late last year, Margins is a San Francisco-based company riding the BookTok wave. This large TikTok community provides a forum where Gen Z can recommend, review, and discuss books — which is important Increase sales for authors. Margins founders Paul Warren and Nick Punt have achieved rapid success with their app, which helps BookTok users track what they’ve read and discover new books, adding a social element to the solo activity. Installs went from 400 to 60,000 in just 12 days. This number exceeded 100,000 in April this year.
Doge
Individual style is important to Gen Z, but putting a look together can be complicated. Founded in 2024 by Dorian Dargan and Jim Winkens, Doji blends fashion and technology, allowing users to create an avatar of themselves to try on designer clothes virtually. This gives younger users access to styles they might not be able to try out otherwise – and lets them try out different looks without fear of embarrassment. In May, Doji raised $14 million in seed money to expand the app and improve its AI models.
Elin.ai
Research conducted by the Walton Family Foundation It found that 42% of Generation Z suffer from depression and feelings of hopelessness. That’s part of the reason this generation has brought mental health to the forefront of the national health care conversation. Czech-based Elin.ai, which was founded by Jan Romportel, Petr Stanislav and Jiri Horacek in 2023, is capitalizing on this interest, using artificial intelligence to analyze screenshots and provide personalized advice to help users manage stress, anxiety and cyberbullying, among other challenges.
Sush
Gen Z has been documenting their lives with photos and videos for nearly two decades, so it’s no surprise that photo-focused apps and companies resonate with these users. Swsh, founded in 2022 by Weilyn Chong, Nathan Ahn, and Alexandra Debow, is a New York-based social and photo-sharing platform tailored to the interests of Gen-Z. Users can filter items from photos and use the app’s AI-based facial recognition tool to search for photos of themselves. The company recently began offering the ability to password-protect albums, so users can control who sees snaps.
corner
Generation Z is a big proponent of shopping local, but they are demanding that those stores have online shopping tools. (A 2023 survey showed that 73% of Gen Z and 75% of Millennials say they would be more likely to buy from small businesses that offer broader payment and delivery options.) Corner, founded in 2022 by Eliza Wu and Jake Shea, helps them do this with a layer of social media on top. It is a mapping app, where the goal is to discover and explore local businesses based on social recommendations. “Rather than deleting other locations, the app built its map from the ground up — and in three years, its users have added more than 275,000 locations. There are no star ratings, and although there are the expected restaurants and retailers, you’ll also occasionally find a listing for a place to watch the sunset. The app has more than 55,000 users in 450 cities.
Billy
A social network for foodies, New York City-based Beli was founded in 2021 by Jodi Thelen and Elliott Frost. Users rate restaurants and other food-focused places, identifying their favorite dishes. The app provides a score for how app users like the restaurant as well as a score for how the user’s individual friends on the app like it. Profiles can be public or private and the app has evolved into a dating app of sorts, connecting people with similar food interests. Gen Z has embraced it enthusiastically (nearly 80 percent of the app’s users are under 35), thanks to its social elements and the opportunity to express themselves. Billy is proud now Over 60 million reviews Globally, topping Yelp.
(tags for translation) Gen Z
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