Gen Z Founders Turn Bad Internships Into Better Workplaces

Katie Diasti once spent hours perfecting a presentation as an intern, only to be barred from the room where it was presented. That moment of invisibility shaped how she now runs her entire company.

Today, as founder and CEO of Viv Period Care, Diasti makes sure every team member who creates something gets to see its full impact. She shares business metrics, goals, and the complete picture with her staff because transparency builds the ownership and trust she never felt as an intern.

Anam Lakhani had a similar awakening during her investment banking internship on Wall Street. The disconnect between her daily work and meaningful impact inspired her to co-found Alinea Invest, an app making investing accessible to her generation.

"One thing I knew when starting my company is I wanted every day to feel like you were moving the company forward," Lakhani explained at the Fast Company Grill at SXSW. Her own frustrating experience became the blueprint for what not to do.

These Gen Z founders admit they lack decades of traditional workplace experience. But Liam Ryan, CEO of solar streetlight company Streetleaf, says that's actually an advantage in some ways.

Without the baggage of old expectations about hierarchy and gatekeeping, young leaders can reimagine how respect flows through an organization. They're proving that keeping people in the dark doesn't build loyalty or drive results.

The shift requires humility, especially when managing employees several decades older. Ryan emphasizes the importance of good mentors to navigate those dynamics successfully.

Why This Inspires

These founders are solving a problem many workers have felt but few leaders acknowledge: being trusted with work but not trusted with context kills motivation. By remembering what it felt like to be dismissed, they're creating workplaces where everyone gets a seat at the table they help build.

Their companies prove that respecting contributions means more than just saying thank you. It means letting people see where their puzzle piece fits in the bigger picture.

The lesson extends far beyond Gen Z startups: when leaders share ownership of both the work and its meaning, everyone wins.