Gen Z\u2019s shift away from traditional office jobs has less to do with wanting to avoid work than with a re-evaluation of risk, reward and lifestyle. Facing an unpredictable economy, this generation is trading corporate ladders for business ownership, building paths to economic independence.<\/em><\/p>\n It was the final day of a 10-day, door-knocking odyssey through the mountain villages of southwestern China when Anson Sik, 25, and Edson Bichon, 27, caught the break that would define their fledgling company.<\/p>\n The pair were in Chuxiong, in the central part of China\u2019s Yunnan province, after spending a week and a half chasing vague WeChat coordinates and half-remembered addresses, looking for garage wineries where natural wines were produced at elevations that left them gasping.<\/p>\n On that last evening, a producer invited them to a harvest dinner. Around the table sat some of the most seasoned names in China\u2019s wine trade \u2013 people who had been importing the drink for decades.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were telling them about our idea, and they were so excited,\u201d Bichon says. \u201cThey said they had never heard anyone doing wine this way.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were just two kids with no experience. But sometimes that\u2019s exactly what it takes.\u201d<\/p>\n
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