From publishing her first book to founding a marketing agency catered toward Gen Z, there’s nothing Erifili Gounari can’t do!

Erifili Gounari is the founder of The Z Link, a cutting-edge marketing firm that specializes in connecting brands with Gen Z digital natives. With a global team spanning 10 countries and over 20 Gen Z marketers, The Z Link has worked with high-profile clients like the United Nations and Deloitte. Her first book, “Design Your Life: Your Career, Your Way” comes out October 3rd, 2024— proving there’s nothing she can’t do! As her own career starts to take off, she’s also reshaping the way brands engage with the next generation; a true trailblazer!

Can you share a bit about your journey and what led you to create The Z Link? What inspired you to focus on connecting brands with Gen Z in such a human-centered way?

The idea for The Z Link sprouted from recognizing a significant gap in how brands communicated with Gen Z. I noticed many brands were focused on making an impact in some way, but struggled to communicate that and connect authentically with our generation on social media. That sparked my desire to start an agency that could bridge this gap effectively. Our focus is deeply rooted in community and a human-centered approach, ensuring that our strategies resonate genuinely with young consumers! Our whole team (25 people around the world) is Gen Z.

You’ve built a large online community of Gen Z, with over 18,000 members. What strategies did you find most effective in fostering a vibrant and engaged community?

When building any Gen Z community, my only tip is to approach it with genuine curiosity and an interest in becoming friends and learning from all these people. I'm grateful for anyone giving their time to our community and getting involved in any way, and I've always been as friendly and helpful as possible in return because I know that you can learn something from everyone! So I'm open and curious to learn from everyone involved, and the community then grows through word of mouth. 

As someone deeply involved in deconstructing internet trends, how do you stay ahead of the rapidly evolving digital landscape?

I mostly stay ahead by using social media myself and following creators and brands that tend to be at the forefront of new things, but I also subscribe to newsletters that share new digital trends, campaigns and news!

 What’s a trend or shift in Gen Z culture that you find particularly exciting or transformative right now?

The one I'm most excited about is Gen Z transforming the future of work by realizing that we can create careers that are better for us, on our own terms. I'm very excited to see where this will lead and what the next years of work will look like.

Your book "Design Your Life: Your Career, Your Way" aims to guide Gen Z in building careers with freedom and flexibility. What was your motivation behind writing this book, and what do you hope readers will take away from it?

I wrote this book because I want to share every single thing I've learned about using all the digital tools and resources that we have at our disposal as Gen Zers (what I think of as 'the digital native advantage') to build careers that provide us with more freedom, ownership, and flexibility, allowing us to achieve more while simultaneously enjoying our lives more. I think there's so much opportunity today, and a lot of ambitious and smart Gen Zers simply don't know where to start. I hope readers will walk away from reading the book with a large amount of new information and insight at their fingertips, and a clear path forward.

Can you share a bit about your experience co-hosting the Espresso Epilogues podcast? How does it align with your other ventures?

I started Espresso Epilogues with one of my best friends because we share the same lifelong love for books, philosophy, and all-things literature, and we wanted an outlet where we can discuss it and connect with others. The podcast went really well, getting a lot more traction than we expected in the first few months! I try not to think that my different ventures and passion projects have to align with each other in some way, as sometimes I just want to explore multiple different passions that I feel equally strong about, without them having to fit into the same broad niche or be related to each other.

 You’re not just a business leader but also a writer and a creative. How do you balance your roles, and what keeps you motivated across all these different projects?

My different projects are all motivated by different aspects of my personality and my goals that I want to express at the same time, but balancing them is certainly a bit tricky sometimes; I find it hard to describe what I do when part of my day is spent running The Z Link, part of it is focused on my Substack and my personal writing, and then promoting my book. There's confusing parts to having so many different disciplines that I'm equally fond of and invested in, but I find interdisciplinary to be very rewarding.

As a young entrepreneur, what advice would you give to other Gen Zers looking to start their own ventures or break into the industry?

My favourite piece of advice is to develop a bias for action: the ability to take action even when imperfect, to go from 0 to 1 without overthinking, and become great at getting things done. No amount of intelligence or skill can make up for a fear of action, and people who throw themselves out there, out of their comfort zones, and put something out in the world, take a solid step towards what they want, have an important advantage.

What’s next for you? Are there any new projects or goals you’re excited about?

I'm currently really excited for the book to be out in the world in a couple of weeks, and for people to read it and hopefully get value from it!! I feel it is an immense privilege to be able to help other Gen Zers break into entrepreneurship and navigate the digital careers landscape in a way that will positively impact their lives and help them feel fulfilled. In terms of what's next, I'm working hard on growing my Substack and maintaining writing as a consistent part of my life.

What’s the last meme you’ve saved on your phone?