“My belief (is) that going out with a fresh mind, first principles, is important. That’s why young people are more helpful with technology, because they are less biased,” he said. Good luck. “I think too much knowledge is not good in technology: you are biased.”

Gen X the entrepreneur knows exactly what talent he needs after spending more than two decades building and leading companies to unicorn status. In 2000, Amper founded the social network company La Burbuja Networks.

And just a few years later, he had a hit on his hands: the businessman raised in Mexico City launched the functional beverage company Amco Foods in 2003, and grew it into a leading competitor in the market. The world’s largest bread company, $263 billion titanium Bimbo groupacquired AMCO in 2004.

Ampers marked his third stint as a founder in 2015 when he launched the AI-powered identity verification business Incode. For the past 25 years, he has had a front seat to test what employee qualities drive success.

“Character is more important than experience…Now, with (generative) AI and ChatGPT, it’s even more true,” continued Amper. “What I look for is grit … People with proven ability who have integrity and character is something I really love, because business is often about perseverance and character and adversity, and so you need people like that around you.”

Balancing unbiased Gen Zers with emotionally mature, older staff

While Amper is a big advocate of the young tech workforce, he’s not completely blind to the generation’s shortcomings. Tech-savvy Gen Zers can take advantage of the fact that they’re new to the workforce—they’re fresh-faced and completely unaware of the intricacies of the industry, allowing them to be laser-focused on the task at hand. But the Incode CEO outlined that the naivety of young staff must be balanced by a good company.

“It’s easier to find people who are impartial as young people, but you have to balance that, because you can also find people who are not very good at emotions. Those capabilities are developed through experiences,” explained Amper. “So it’s a combination. You hire young people, but you also have to hire older (employees).”

“You can find people who have been through hard things and brought that to the company, and also young people who haven’t been through that, but they’re on the other side,” he continued.

CEOs who see young workers as the next opening

Amper’s assertion that young, inexperienced Gen Zers are the secret sauce for tech companies is actually playing out in real time. Last year, an AI company run by Gen Z stepped into the scene and strengthened the war rooms of US tech billionaires: DeepSeek. The Chinese powerhouse, led by the CEO Liang Wenfeng, credited with its success of his young talent.

“If you are looking for short-term goals, it is right to find people with ready experience,” Liang said in a 2023 interview of Chinese media outlet 36Kr. “But if you look long-term, experience is less important. Basic skills, creativity, and passion are more important.”

Unlike his computer science-hungry competitors, the millennial DeepSeek founder is looking to Gen Z and humanities majors to lead his revolutionary AI. Liang added, uncharacteristically, that work experience was not at the top of his list when considering who to hire at the unicorn company.

“Doing a similar job in the past does not mean you can do this job,” insisted the CEO, adding that young inexperienced workers are more innovative than seasoned AI experts who can be troubled by their own knowledge. “When doing something, experienced people will tell you unequivocally that you have to do it in a certain way. But inexperienced people will repeatedly analyze and think seriously about how to do it, and then find a solution that fits the current situation.”

Even Fortune Fortune 500 companies outside of technology are embracing Gen Z workers, instead of rejecting them. The $62 billion retail giant COlgatE PalmOlivE is the leaning on the young digital natives to help the heritage brand grow; Sally Massey, chief human resources officer at Colgate, said luck that Gen Zers have in-demand skills and new perspectives on the future of work.

“(Gen Z) grew up with technology. They grew up in a very different way than other generations in the organization,” Massey recently SAYS. “They bring new ideas, new perspectives, curiosity…They push us to be better and do things differently—I think it’s great.”