The generational gap that became a business advantage

Young entrepreneur, Ben Towers and his adviser, Roger Williams reveal how they’ve used generational diversity to their advantage.

As one of the UK’s most influential young entrepreneurs, nineteen-year-old Ben Towers is proof that centennials are capable of more than just entry-level job roles. Already becoming the next business leaders and industry disrupters, centennials are the ones to watch in the Start Up arena.

Ben started his business journey aged eleven when he began building websites from his bedroom. Since then, he’s progressed far beyond those four walls. He’s carried out a multi-million-pound merger, keynoted at some of the world’s leading conferences and invested in numerous innovative companies – all before the age of twenty.

As a centennial, Ben has worked with a range of generations outside his own, and has gained an appreciation for their experience, knowledge and skills. Some consider a generational gap between co-workers to be a hindrance in running a business because of the differing values or working methods involved. But, for Ben – this gap was his advantage.

On his road to success, Ben worked closely with Roger Williams, who has acted as his mentor or adviser. The differing skills that came partly as a result of differing generational experience were, in fact, their recipe for a successful business. We spoke to Ben and Roger about their experience of working together and how generational diversity is essential to every workplace.

By securing an intergenerational business arrangement like Ben and Roger’s, not only are younger generations granted the opportunity to learn from older, but older generations are granted a world of new ideas, perspectives and insights too. Together, these benefits have the ability to give a business a new lease of life. And as Roger Williams said, “we’re only going to change the world if we work collectively. That means participation, opinion and input from every generation.”

With five generations now in the workplace, generational diversity is at an all-time high.