Age and the Entrepreneur

http://paul.kedrosky.com/archives/2008/05/01/age_and_the_ent.html

by julieb2 • 18 years ago

25 19 18 years ago

paul.kedrosky.com

webwatch• 18 years ago

It's strange to me that people seem to want the average age of the start-up founder to be low...why is it more fun if the founder is young than if they are in their 40s?

As a side note, there are some insightful comments that point out the differences in the two data sets that the writer is referring to (a study vs. anecdotal evidence from VC Fred Wilson). But it's an interesting read, none the less.

edw5193• 18 years ago

"want the average age of the start-up founder to be low"

Then they must be brilliant. If a 40 year old was brilliant, then why didn't he do this 20 years ago? (They tend to forget that it wasn't like this 20 years ago.)

cstejerean2• 18 years ago

plenty of companies got started more than 20 years ago. What would have prevented you from starting a company when MS or Apple started?

abless2• 18 years ago

The only real reason why it's harder for older people to make a startup is the high risk involved. Once you have a family you cannot mess around anymore.

amichail3• 18 years ago

Isn't it the responsibility of the wife to bring in a steady income?

typicaljoe• 18 years ago

Best comment ever

ojbyrne• 18 years ago

Actually I know quite a few couples where that's the case. Not all startups mind you, I have this musician friend...

But I've seen the "wife has high paying job with steady income, husband is kinda fly-by-night" pattern often enough that I wonder if other people see it too.

I never did find that kind of a women myself. Damn!

mde• 18 years ago

That's great! Everyone loves this comment since so many of us are banking on it (or have lived it). It just brought to mind my reading of some interviews in "Creativty" (http://www.amazon.com/Creativity-Flow-Psychology-Discovery-I...). There was more than one great mind who attributed his success to having a wonderfully supportive/responsible wife. He apologized for his sexist remark, but admitted that he would never have had his successes if it weren't for his wonderful companion who freed him from so much responsibility. (Sorry for fabricating some of this from the top of my head; I can't locate the interview right now.)

abless2• 18 years ago

Once you have kids, the answer is no.

dgabriel• 18 years ago

Unfortunately, this is what my ex-husband still believes. Not that he's started a business or anything, mind you.

That said, let's make the wild assumption that some women might be entrepreneurs, and rephrase this as: Isn't it the responsibility of the spouse to bring in a steady income?

nadim• 18 years ago

This is a good snapshot of the population right now, I'm curious to know what the trends are. I suspect the 25-34 age category is growing and the 35-44 category is shrinking.

"When starting a startup was expensive, you had to get the permission of investors to do it. Now the only threshold is courage." [1]

[1] http://www.paulgraham.com/webstartups.html

Age and the Entrepreneur

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