Angie Read is the mother of three “Generation Z” kids, 17, 15 and 13 (boy, boy, girl). She also is a seasoned marketer with more than 20 years of experience. Read’s fascination with Gen Z (born 1995-2010, roughly) started a few years ago when a client needed help launching and marketing a new slipper line aimed at tween/teen girls. Her first inclination was to approach them as “younger millennials,” but after some initial research, she soon realized that wasn’t the case at all. In fact, what she found showed huge differences between the two generations, and she soon realized marketers would be making a huge mistake if they didn’t take the time to fully research and understand this complex, diverse and incredibly fickle consumer group – one that has $44 billion in direct spending power and by the year 2020 will represent 40% of American consumers.