11 Quotes From Investors in Different Decades of Their Lives

It’s not often you hear events or panels addressing ageism in the workplace.

That’s one reason why Cassidy North-Reist, Events Manager at Justworks, wanted to create a new speaker series called DECADES. Her inspiration stemmed from a conversation she had with a coworker at a previous job.

“[My coworker] was a 50-year-old woman, I’m a woman in my 20s. She felt it was hard to even break into the startup community and feel accepted,” said Cassidy. “With that, I started thinking about what sorts of events and programming we could do to facilitate that dialogue and those conversations.”

Justworks knows that a diverse workforce creates a vibrant and productive workplace, and DECADES seamlessly aligned with the company’s goals to facilitate more diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

So on July 25th, 2017, the inaugural DECADES event took place. The event focused on investing, and featured panelists each in a different decade of their lives.

Check out below the advice panelists gave, and what attendees got out of the event.

Panelists

1. "Often, companies scale in experience quicker than people do...One of the most wonderful things is when the energy of youth can be married with the wisdom of experience...it's all about that harmony." - Amish Jani

2. “To be welcoming of different perspectives, you need to create an environment where the little things roll off your back...as long as people are respectful of others, it comes down to tolerance." - Amy Radin

3. "People still put a huge value on personal touch." - George Bianco

4."The internet is like direct mail on steroids! So I redirected [from direct mail to digital marketing]...best choice I ever made." - Amy Radin

5. "I give my kids unsolicited advice all the time...I tell them, the world is remarkable, there are lots of wonderful things happening, but it's also much harder. Your future is going to be a function of your relationships. Keep learning and be authentic to yourself.” - Amy Radin

6. "Maintain curiosity...and don't be afraid to start from zero again." - Miles Grimshaw

7. "As a young person, I certainly benefited from a mentor...I think it's really, really critical in someone's career." - Amish Jani

8. "If there is one piece of advice I would give, it’s to have surface area — be out there! Just to be out there...you never know where a connection is going to be made." - George Bianco

9. "Being out there, learning from people, and giving to people, is just how you have to operate if you want to have a viable career. Plus it's fun!" - Amy Radin

10. "Mentorship is really important...the bigger need is to maintain a very vital and active network. And the way to do this is to give to others." - Amy Radin

11. "I feel like a millennial in the body of a [baby] boomer...Sometimes I forget how old I am." - Amy Radin

Attendees

The event kicked off a dialogue about ageism in the workplace, but it’s just the beginning. Justworks plans to have even more DECADES events in the future.

“It’s a really good opportunity to meet mentors and mentees,” said Cassidy. “We believe we can really make a change by having an open, honest dialogue with our panelists, as well as [the attendees].”

Interested in attending the next DECADES event? You can RSVP here.

No matter what decade you're in, it never hurts to get advice from people who have been there. These investment experts share their knowledge on intergenerational workplaces.