The way Dan Rosensweig, the CEO of textbook-rental site Chegg, sees it, kids these days are a bunch of instant-gratification junkies who expect the world to be dropped at their laptop. And if you have a business that's targeted toward them, you'd better get used to it.
Rosensweig was one of many high-profile participants to take part in TheGrill on Tuesday. Among the many points he emphasized to the assemblage: That if you don't give the kids what they want, you might as well put up a "Going Out of Business" sign now.
"[The young consumers of today have] always been used to getting what they want, when they want it, where they want it and how they want it," Rosensweig asserted. "The joke I always make is that I grew up in a generation where you paid for music and water was free. This generation, they believe that they should have access to anything, anytime they want."
And as much as it might pain some entrepreneurs to accept that fact, Rosensweig warns that they ignore that impulse at their own peril:
"If you are not integrating to where people consume their media or where they learn about it, you're dead. It doesn't matter how good you are; you have to engage."
Get TheWrap's full coverage of the Dan Rosensweig session here.
