Next Gen is not code for Gen Z. It describes founders, creators and established businesses using community-led growth, creator-first brands, AI-native workflows, new traffic sources and different commercial models. Emerging businesses challenge an inherited assumption; established leaders test the economics; the room votes future or trend.

• What qualifies as Next Gen: business model, operating behaviour and route to audience not age.
• Which creator, community, AI-native and diversified acquisition approaches already produce measurable commercial results.
• Where the new playbook breaks under scale, regulation, monetisation or audience-retention pressure and which claims are hype.
• What established businesses can adopt without diluting the source of the advantage.