9 ms·

Why 30 year old entrepreneurs are not over the hill

60 points by allanscu 15y ago

MatthewB 15y ago
Obviously, Arrington's article was just a fluff piece. 30 is not over the hill. 25 is also definitely not peaking. It is true that a 25 year old is more willing to take a risk on a startup than a 30+ year old (which I have learned first hand), but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen. It's all about the person. I'm 27 and am about to take a huge risk with a startup. Maybe i'm still in the "peak age" but I don't think at 30 I would think any differently. It's all about passion.
- ares2012 15y ago
  Agreed. It's not consumer internet but I always look at how Colonel Sanders made his mark after he turned 65 as inspiration for the future: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonel_Sanders http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonel_Sanders
pbreit 15y ago
I'm 41 with a wife and kid (another on the way) and not crazy technical: http://pricetack.com http://pricetack.com
icey 15y ago
If you're <a thing> who has bought into some blogger saying you aren't cut out to be an entrepreneur because of <aforementioned thing>, then maybe you aren't cut out to be an entrepreneur. One of the very best things about being an entrepreneur is that you get to ignore what everyone else thinks qualifies or disqualifies you. The only thing that matters is what you make (or more accurately, what you do with what you make).
robbles 15y ago
Why does the 30 yr old spend more on gas (in the initial estimate)?
- sfalbo 15y ago
  Longer commute? More time consuming 'fun'?
- nl 15y ago
  As a 35 yo: I used to be able to walk/catch bus/ride lots of places. Now I have a kid it's no longer possible, and things like school drop-offs double my commuting distance.
sfalbo 15y ago
I'm just about to hit 30 and taking more entrepreneurial risks. I feel like the knowledge I've gained in the business world is immensely helpful. In general, it seems that the older you get, the opportunity costs for risks increase. Not just monetarily speaking but also other things you may have to cut back on - family, friends, etc.
- chriswoodford 15y ago
  i'm in the same boat and struggling with the same issues. on the verge of 30 it becomes more of a game of weighing the pros and cons. does this startup idea have enough potential that it's worth leaving my full time job? and if so, how am i going to keep paying these damn student loans? etc.
  - keeptrying 15y ago
    True but think about when you turn 40, how are you going to feel about the work you did during the most productive years of your life ? Your remember that 30th birthday. I bet turning 40 is going to be much much worse.
michaelochurch 15y ago
When someone says that he will only fund or work with people in their 20s, run. He's looking for a young, inexperienced person who doesn't know his rights and of whom he can take advantage. Where there is some truth in this is that a 30-year-old first-time entrepreneur usually cannot get terms from a VC that would merit leaving a more stable job. A person of that age with a decent career is unlikely to have much interest in the terms (participating preferred, easy to fire the founders, giving up a lot of board seats, low salary) available to a no-name first-time entrepreneur. If someone who is 35 is willing to take a 3x-liquidation preference and participating preferred, do you really want to fund him? Obviously no, because he either lacks decent options or doesn't understand business, neither of which is a good sign for someone of that age. On the other hand, there are plenty of 22-year-olds with a lot of talent but no sense of what they're worth or what rights they have.
- a5seo 15y ago
  Considering that it takes 7+ years to build a substantial, successful company, if you found a startup when you're 25 and take 7 years to exit, you WILL be > 30 when you're done and available to work on startup #2. So by this "under 30 only" logic, you would never fund successful serial entrepreneurs. Great idea. :-/
  - ares2012 15y ago
    Well said.
tomsaffell 15y ago
I'm a 31 year old entrepreneur. Here are my rough living costs. I've done them on a personal basis. The household costs (including my wife) are double this. I'm not saying I'm typical, but I am saying that it doesnt need to be as expensive as the article claims. Rent/Mortgage/Prop Tax: $765 (single family home in SF, including office) Utilities: $80 (fast Internet) Insurance (car, home): $60 (free health plan through wife) Transportation: $10 (bike) Gas: $50 Food: $150 Fun: $200 Clothing: $50 (and it shows..) Grand Total: $1365 And I'm not living on Ramen!
- MatthewB 15y ago
  You have a home in SF for $765/month? That's ridiculously low. The rest of your expenses are low too, well done.
  - tomsaffell 15y ago
    Yup, but bear in mind that's between two people ($1300 per month), and after tax break (so looks like $2000 on paper, but is actually only $1300 out of pocket). It's on a 3.75% rate (7 year), and excludes principle repayment (which is not a cost). Includes property tax. So it's very comparable to rent.
    - MatthewB 15y ago
      Im looking for apartments in SF right now and can't find anything (decent) under $1700 for a 1 bed 1 bath. Maybe I just have expensive taste:).
      - timr 15y ago
        No, he's only counting interest on the loan, and his wife is paying half. It's not even remotely a fair comparison to a single founder living in the city. A more realistic "cheap" lifestyle in SF is probably $2500 a month if you're living on your own. And renting is substantially cheaper than owning here, unless you play stupid accounting games to pretend that you're not actually spending money.
HedgeMage 15y ago
I don't think it's about money as much as lifestyle -- the OP misses this entirely by assuming that both entrepreneurs are single and without children. Something interesting I observed at Startup Weekend here in Indy last fall: When it came time to form teams, all the young'uns grouped with one another, and the four of us codgers with responsibilities worked together. The line wasn't drawn according to age: there was one 30+ guy in another group, but he was single; two of the four members of my group were still in our 20's, but we were the primary sources of income for families with children, and I think that led us to fit in better with our 40+ cofounders. With a few exceptions, I'd find it uncomfortable -- if not unworkable -- cofounding with the bouncy 20-something who has no outside responsibilities. When team building means getting drunk together on a Wednesday night, work hours are noon-8pm, and the company culture is low on planning and high on "nothing to lose", a company is just not going to be a good fit for me. I'm fine with economic sacrifice, and with working hard. Because I'm looking for a new startup to join, I've tooled down my living expenses such that I could do an extended period somewhere between the two guys in that article. Because I've always been a hard worker, I've made my work schedule part of my family's life: I work a normal 9-3:30 in the office (currently home office, but I'm flexible), then after school, my son brings his homework to my office and we do our work together for a couple of hours. I tend to get in another hour or two in the evenings after he goes to sleep. I never get drunk, let alone on a weeknight when I have to get a first grader up for school in the morning. I'll never end up in an incubator because I'm not changing my son's school, leaving his speech therapy program, leaving our dojo, and generally up-ending his whole world in exchange for a few months of help for my startup. I often meet people at my stage in life (kids, responsibilities, etc.) who say they don't do start-ups because they perceive "bouncy without responsibilities" to be the expectation of all startups. Their loss. I have to look a little harder, but I find other "codgers" out there in the entrepreneur community. I have to wonder if the people held back by the stereotype really have whatever that spark is that makes us take risks on new things anyway. Oh, and I almost forgot.... GET OFF MY LAWN!
- Rariel 15y ago
  Fellow old fogey here. What kind of startup are you looking to join?
sdoowpilihp 15y ago
I would argue that this "over the hill by 30" mentality permeates a lot of things in our culture. I know I hear it a lot in the sports I am involved in (climbing, backpacking, etc.) Yet there are at least 1-2 guys well past 30 (likely in their 50's) at the climbing gym I go to that could out climb most of us twenty-somethings. There are also a healthy number of successful entrepreneurs well past 30. I would posit that more than anything, being "over the hill" is a frame of mind.
VB6_Foreverr 15y ago
Young bull viewing a herd of cows up the hill says to old bull: "Quick let's run up and ride a cow" Old bull replies : "Let's walk up and ride 'em all"
dylanrw 15y ago
The younger crowd is also more impressionable than the older crowd. Older investors I bet <3 to play sage and school the youngins' and the first step to get them to listen is to compliment them. lol
rythie 15y ago
Didn't Arrington start Techcrunch at 35 anyway?
- allanscu 15y ago
  Yes. That's about the age he started TC.
ilkandi 15y ago
30/40 year old entrepreneur is more likely to be married or in a stable relationship; fun is Netflix ($5 a month) or streaming movies (free). Use wife's health insurance. $400 a month on transportation, really? Anyone with a wife/gf knows they don't travel that much anymore. No reason for utilities to be higher either. Food is way lower, older people are more likely to cook their own and make smarter supermarket choices. Being older and boring is very cheap. If working from home eg programming, having your own place can mean that you sleep better and are more focused on doing the work, rather than being distracted by whose turn it is to do the dishes or joining in your roommates' post-bar parties. Of course, having kids or being a caregiver would change the person's profile, regardless of age. Just a few counter-thoughts.
sdh 15y ago
1. startups are not risky. there's plenty more 2. it's a lot harder to negotiate terms with an experience entrepreneur. 3. over 30s can hire under 30s. 4. is it techcrunch or techtroll?
kayoone 15y ago
man, suddenly i feel old with 28...where has my live gone ? ;)
- thwarted 15y ago
  Turn around, it's ahead of you.
chr15 15y ago
Two advantages that older entrepreneurs have is domain expertise and industry connections. For example, I know some people who started companies that contract out to the US government and make a killing doing it. I don't think an under-25 entrepreneur would be too successful doing that unless they're well connected (involves writing proposals, which most 20-somethings aren't going to be good at) . My observation is that most young entrepreneurs stick to building consumer internet products that don't require a lot of domain expertise.
ramynassar 15y ago
Also not considering the 30 somethings (such as myself) who spent a few years working for companies in order to save up and get some experience BEFORE taking the "plunge". Now I have a great portfolio, some cash and some experience that can all help me work towards this kind of goal. Doesn't necessarily put me a head of a new grad but surely doesn't put me behind either!
hessenwolf 15y ago
Flamebait. I cannot be bothered, in the 14th hour of my workday, to find the reference on the internet but the last time I heard anything the average age was thirty six. The average VC victim is in their twenties, sure, because they have no capital.
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
dstein 15y ago
Not everyone over 30 has a wife, kids, 2 cars, is in debt up to their eyeballs, and lives downtown San Francisco. I'm over 30, single, own a home, and am bootstrapping a software/consulting business. Between income from my business, savings, and profits in the stock market (I day trade on the side) I have almost unlimited runway. I don't have to pander to investors and I have the time to really sink my teeth into some hard problems. The crazy thing is when I do the math at the end of the year, I'm not even that far behind where I'd be if I had a day job and I'm still just getting started. What risk?
- decultured 15y ago
  I am in basically the same situation: Over 30, single, own a home, bootstrapping a business. I have steady and flexible part time consulting work I can use to pay the bills if I need to, but rarely do. I have 2 room-mates I share my house with that pay 100% of the mortgage and a large chunk of utilities. I have practically 0 debt (other than the house). I have worked at several startups already, and know better than many first-timers what is involved. If anything I believe I am better off starting a company than a young 22 year old. One important difference though: Like another commenter said, I am not as eager to accept any investor terms thrown my way, nor am I gauging my success on investor interest. I am in this to make a profitable, successful business venture, and will only accept investment on good terms when it will directly aid in the growth of my company. Perhaps that is why VCs might avoid older entrepreneurs, we are more cautious of investment deals, and don't judge success by those alone.
  - keeptrying 15y ago
    I"m over 30 and single too. But I dont own a home - so I do have substantial savings. What kind of business are you starting ? I've been doing some customer development in the area of travel. I quit 3 weeks ago.
hsmyers 15y ago
If one actually reads 'Zen Mind: Beginner's Mind' it should be abundantly clear that enlightenment can come to anyone at any age. That said the primary reason why the 30 year old is not over the hill is that he or she can still see the 60 year old just short of the summit (and neither can see that there are an endless number of summits to come...)
abbasmehdi 15y ago
His "data-driven" numbers are misinformed because they're raw. They just look at how many 20-year-olds started a company and took it to success vs. how many 30-year-olds did the same - just raw numbers. They don't look at the percentage of 30+ people who succeed out of the total in their age group who attempted a technology-startup vs. the same for those in their 20s; and if the difference is statistically significant. If he tells me that 20% of people in their 20s succeed and only 5% in their 30s succeed then he'd have a point, I bet he does not.
hunterp 15y ago
At 28.8 I am a better decision maker. I have better life skills, I am better at making friends, making social connections and making business connections. As a coder, I no longer like coding for the sake of coding. I like coding because it is a means to an end. My powers of abstraction are greater. After 2 years of moderately successful solopreneurship, I fully understand the absolute need to ally with other people. I am able to cut through people's bullshit easier. When I meet a potential business parter/coder I am more quickly able to see exactly how strong they are, what kind of drive they have, and ultimately I am more quick (and confident) to tell them to fuck off if they are a liability. As a 20-25 year old, I had no confidence and could not speak up for myself. I focus solely on projects that I enjoy with people that I enjoy working with. My ability to create potentials for happiness and avoid pitfalls is stronger than ever. Physically, I am stronger than ever, and I eat much much healthier. I am more positioned than ever before to hit a project out of the ballpark. Finally, at 28.8 I realize that my ageism is just another prejudice that was hindering my ability to take advice. Now, my mind is not closed. It is more open than ever before. Age has worked well for me, and young peers, it will work well for you too.
amorphid 15y ago
I'm 36 and just getting warmed up!
nickthedart 15y ago
One thing missed by this article - the house price boom over the last few years means that people who bought before the boom should have much lower outgoings for housing. A 30-something with much of their house paid off is in that respect in a better position to take risks than a 20-something paying rent and perhaps wondering if they ought to save for the downpayment/deposit on a house purchase. Another issue is that learning how to cook healthy food quickly and cheaply can take years to learn and your food costs can diminish with age.

60 points by allanscu 15y ago

Obviously, Arrington's article was just a fluff piece. 30 is not over the hill. 25 is also definitely not peaking. It is true that a 25 year old is more willing to take a risk on a startup than a 30+ year old (which I have learned first hand), but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen. It's all about the person. I'm 27 and am about to take a huge risk with a startup. Maybe i'm still in the "peak age" but I don't think at 30 I would think any differently. It's all about passion.

ares2012 15y ago
Agreed. It's not consumer internet but I always look at how Colonel Sanders made his mark after he turned 65 as inspiration for the future: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonel_Sanders http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonel_Sanders

pbreit 15y ago

I'm 41 with a wife and kid (another on the way) and not crazy technical: http://pricetack.com http://pricetack.com

icey 15y ago

If you're <a thing> who has bought into some blogger saying you aren't cut out to be an entrepreneur because of <aforementioned thing>, then maybe you aren't cut out to be an entrepreneur. One of the very best things about being an entrepreneur is that you get to ignore what everyone else thinks qualifies or disqualifies you. The only thing that matters is what you make (or more accurately, what you do with what you make).

robbles 15y ago

Why does the 30 yr old spend more on gas (in the initial estimate)?

sfalbo 15y ago
Longer commute? More time consuming 'fun'?
nl 15y ago
As a 35 yo: I used to be able to walk/catch bus/ride lots of places. Now I have a kid it's no longer possible, and things like school drop-offs double my commuting distance.

sfalbo 15y ago

I'm just about to hit 30 and taking more entrepreneurial risks. I feel like the knowledge I've gained in the business world is immensely helpful. In general, it seems that the older you get, the opportunity costs for risks increase. Not just monetarily speaking but also other things you may have to cut back on - family, friends, etc.

chriswoodford 15y ago
i'm in the same boat and struggling with the same issues. on the verge of 30 it becomes more of a game of weighing the pros and cons. does this startup idea have enough potential that it's worth leaving my full time job? and if so, how am i going to keep paying these damn student loans? etc.
- keeptrying 15y ago
  True but think about when you turn 40, how are you going to feel about the work you did during the most productive years of your life ? Your remember that 30th birthday. I bet turning 40 is going to be much much worse.

michaelochurch 15y ago

When someone says that he will only fund or work with people in their 20s, run. He's looking for a young, inexperienced person who doesn't know his rights and of whom he can take advantage. Where there is some truth in this is that a 30-year-old first-time entrepreneur usually cannot get terms from a VC that would merit leaving a more stable job. A person of that age with a decent career is unlikely to have much interest in the terms (participating preferred, easy to fire the founders, giving up a lot of board seats, low salary) available to a no-name first-time entrepreneur. If someone who is 35 is willing to take a 3x-liquidation preference and participating preferred, do you really want to fund him? Obviously no, because he either lacks decent options or doesn't understand business, neither of which is a good sign for someone of that age. On the other hand, there are plenty of 22-year-olds with a lot of talent but no sense of what they're worth or what rights they have.

a5seo 15y ago
Considering that it takes 7+ years to build a substantial, successful company, if you found a startup when you're 25 and take 7 years to exit, you WILL be > 30 when you're done and available to work on startup #2. So by this "under 30 only" logic, you would never fund successful serial entrepreneurs. Great idea. :-/
- ares2012 15y ago
  Well said.

tomsaffell 15y ago

I'm a 31 year old entrepreneur. Here are my rough living costs. I've done them on a personal basis. The household costs (including my wife) are double this. I'm not saying I'm typical, but I am saying that it doesnt need to be as expensive as the article claims. Rent/Mortgage/Prop Tax: $765 (single family home in SF, including office) Utilities: $80 (fast Internet) Insurance (car, home): $60 (free health plan through wife) Transportation: $10 (bike) Gas: $50 Food: $150 Fun: $200 Clothing: $50 (and it shows..) Grand Total: $1365 And I'm not living on Ramen!

MatthewB 15y ago
You have a home in SF for $765/month? That's ridiculously low. The rest of your expenses are low too, well done.
- tomsaffell 15y ago
  Yup, but bear in mind that's between two people ($1300 per month), and after tax break (so looks like $2000 on paper, but is actually only $1300 out of pocket). It's on a 3.75% rate (7 year), and excludes principle repayment (which is not a cost). Includes property tax. So it's very comparable to rent.
  - MatthewB 15y ago
    Im looking for apartments in SF right now and can't find anything (decent) under $1700 for a 1 bed 1 bath. Maybe I just have expensive taste:).
    - timr 15y ago
      No, he's only counting interest on the loan, and his wife is paying half. It's not even remotely a fair comparison to a single founder living in the city. A more realistic "cheap" lifestyle in SF is probably $2500 a month if you're living on your own. And renting is substantially cheaper than owning here, unless you play stupid accounting games to pretend that you're not actually spending money.

HedgeMage 15y ago

I don't think it's about money as much as lifestyle -- the OP misses this entirely by assuming that both entrepreneurs are single and without children. Something interesting I observed at Startup Weekend here in Indy last fall: When it came time to form teams, all the young'uns grouped with one another, and the four of us codgers with responsibilities worked together. The line wasn't drawn according to age: there was one 30+ guy in another group, but he was single; two of the four members of my group were still in our 20's, but we were the primary sources of income for families with children, and I think that led us to fit in better with our 40+ cofounders. With a few exceptions, I'd find it uncomfortable -- if not unworkable -- cofounding with the bouncy 20-something who has no outside responsibilities. When team building means getting drunk together on a Wednesday night, work hours are noon-8pm, and the company culture is low on planning and high on "nothing to lose", a company is just not going to be a good fit for me. I'm fine with economic sacrifice, and with working hard. Because I'm looking for a new startup to join, I've tooled down my living expenses such that I could do an extended period somewhere between the two guys in that article. Because I've always been a hard worker, I've made my work schedule part of my family's life: I work a normal 9-3:30 in the office (currently home office, but I'm flexible), then after school, my son brings his homework to my office and we do our work together for a couple of hours. I tend to get in another hour or two in the evenings after he goes to sleep. I never get drunk, let alone on a weeknight when I have to get a first grader up for school in the morning. I'll never end up in an incubator because I'm not changing my son's school, leaving his speech therapy program, leaving our dojo, and generally up-ending his whole world in exchange for a few months of help for my startup. I often meet people at my stage in life (kids, responsibilities, etc.) who say they don't do start-ups because they perceive "bouncy without responsibilities" to be the expectation of all startups. Their loss. I have to look a little harder, but I find other "codgers" out there in the entrepreneur community. I have to wonder if the people held back by the stereotype really have whatever that spark is that makes us take risks on new things anyway. Oh, and I almost forgot.... GET OFF MY LAWN!

Rariel 15y ago
Fellow old fogey here. What kind of startup are you looking to join?

sdoowpilihp 15y ago

I would argue that this "over the hill by 30" mentality permeates a lot of things in our culture. I know I hear it a lot in the sports I am involved in (climbing, backpacking, etc.) Yet there are at least 1-2 guys well past 30 (likely in their 50's) at the climbing gym I go to that could out climb most of us twenty-somethings. There are also a healthy number of successful entrepreneurs well past 30. I would posit that more than anything, being "over the hill" is a frame of mind.

VB6_Foreverr 15y ago

Young bull viewing a herd of cows up the hill says to old bull: "Quick let's run up and ride a cow" Old bull replies : "Let's walk up and ride 'em all"

dylanrw 15y ago

The younger crowd is also more impressionable than the older crowd. Older investors I bet <3 to play sage and school the youngins' and the first step to get them to listen is to compliment them. lol

rythie 15y ago

Didn't Arrington start Techcrunch at 35 anyway?

allanscu 15y ago
Yes. That's about the age he started TC.

ilkandi 15y ago

30/40 year old entrepreneur is more likely to be married or in a stable relationship; fun is Netflix ($5 a month) or streaming movies (free). Use wife's health insurance. $400 a month on transportation, really? Anyone with a wife/gf knows they don't travel that much anymore. No reason for utilities to be higher either. Food is way lower, older people are more likely to cook their own and make smarter supermarket choices. Being older and boring is very cheap. If working from home eg programming, having your own place can mean that you sleep better and are more focused on doing the work, rather than being distracted by whose turn it is to do the dishes or joining in your roommates' post-bar parties. Of course, having kids or being a caregiver would change the person's profile, regardless of age. Just a few counter-thoughts.

sdh 15y ago

1. startups are not risky. there's plenty more 2. it's a lot harder to negotiate terms with an experience entrepreneur. 3. over 30s can hire under 30s. 4. is it techcrunch or techtroll?

kayoone 15y ago

man, suddenly i feel old with 28...where has my live gone ? ;)

thwarted 15y ago
Turn around, it's ahead of you.

chr15 15y ago

Two advantages that older entrepreneurs have is domain expertise and industry connections. For example, I know some people who started companies that contract out to the US government and make a killing doing it. I don't think an under-25 entrepreneur would be too successful doing that unless they're well connected (involves writing proposals, which most 20-somethings aren't going to be good at) . My observation is that most young entrepreneurs stick to building consumer internet products that don't require a lot of domain expertise.

ramynassar 15y ago

Also not considering the 30 somethings (such as myself) who spent a few years working for companies in order to save up and get some experience BEFORE taking the "plunge". Now I have a great portfolio, some cash and some experience that can all help me work towards this kind of goal. Doesn't necessarily put me a head of a new grad but surely doesn't put me behind either!

hessenwolf 15y ago

Flamebait. I cannot be bothered, in the 14th hour of my workday, to find the reference on the internet but the last time I heard anything the average age was thirty six. The average VC victim is in their twenties, sure, because they have no capital.

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

dstein 15y ago

Not everyone over 30 has a wife, kids, 2 cars, is in debt up to their eyeballs, and lives downtown San Francisco. I'm over 30, single, own a home, and am bootstrapping a software/consulting business. Between income from my business, savings, and profits in the stock market (I day trade on the side) I have almost unlimited runway. I don't have to pander to investors and I have the time to really sink my teeth into some hard problems. The crazy thing is when I do the math at the end of the year, I'm not even that far behind where I'd be if I had a day job and I'm still just getting started. What risk?

decultured 15y ago
I am in basically the same situation: Over 30, single, own a home, bootstrapping a business. I have steady and flexible part time consulting work I can use to pay the bills if I need to, but rarely do. I have 2 room-mates I share my house with that pay 100% of the mortgage and a large chunk of utilities. I have practically 0 debt (other than the house). I have worked at several startups already, and know better than many first-timers what is involved. If anything I believe I am better off starting a company than a young 22 year old. One important difference though: Like another commenter said, I am not as eager to accept any investor terms thrown my way, nor am I gauging my success on investor interest. I am in this to make a profitable, successful business venture, and will only accept investment on good terms when it will directly aid in the growth of my company. Perhaps that is why VCs might avoid older entrepreneurs, we are more cautious of investment deals, and don't judge success by those alone.
- keeptrying 15y ago
  I"m over 30 and single too. But I dont own a home - so I do have substantial savings. What kind of business are you starting ? I've been doing some customer development in the area of travel. I quit 3 weeks ago.

hsmyers 15y ago

If one actually reads 'Zen Mind: Beginner's Mind' it should be abundantly clear that enlightenment can come to anyone at any age. That said the primary reason why the 30 year old is not over the hill is that he or she can still see the 60 year old just short of the summit (and neither can see that there are an endless number of summits to come...)

abbasmehdi 15y ago

His "data-driven" numbers are misinformed because they're raw. They just look at how many 20-year-olds started a company and took it to success vs. how many 30-year-olds did the same - just raw numbers. They don't look at the percentage of 30+ people who succeed out of the total in their age group who attempted a technology-startup vs. the same for those in their 20s; and if the difference is statistically significant. If he tells me that 20% of people in their 20s succeed and only 5% in their 30s succeed then he'd have a point, I bet he does not.

hunterp 15y ago

At 28.8 I am a better decision maker. I have better life skills, I am better at making friends, making social connections and making business connections. As a coder, I no longer like coding for the sake of coding. I like coding because it is a means to an end. My powers of abstraction are greater. After 2 years of moderately successful solopreneurship, I fully understand the absolute need to ally with other people. I am able to cut through people's bullshit easier. When I meet a potential business parter/coder I am more quickly able to see exactly how strong they are, what kind of drive they have, and ultimately I am more quick (and confident) to tell them to fuck off if they are a liability. As a 20-25 year old, I had no confidence and could not speak up for myself. I focus solely on projects that I enjoy with people that I enjoy working with. My ability to create potentials for happiness and avoid pitfalls is stronger than ever. Physically, I am stronger than ever, and I eat much much healthier. I am more positioned than ever before to hit a project out of the ballpark. Finally, at 28.8 I realize that my ageism is just another prejudice that was hindering my ability to take advice. Now, my mind is not closed. It is more open than ever before. Age has worked well for me, and young peers, it will work well for you too.

amorphid 15y ago

I'm 36 and just getting warmed up!

nickthedart 15y ago

One thing missed by this article - the house price boom over the last few years means that people who bought before the boom should have much lower outgoings for housing. A 30-something with much of their house paid off is in that respect in a better position to take risks than a 20-something paying rent and perhaps wondering if they ought to save for the downpayment/deposit on a house purchase. Another issue is that learning how to cook healthy food quickly and cheaply can take years to learn and your food costs can diminish with age.