It's not clear from your comment if it was an interview situation, or if it was casual conversation. If the latter, you should call them out. I'm a fellow 43-y

It's not clear from your comment if it was an interview situation, or if it was casual conversation. If the latter, you should call them out. I'm a fellow 43-year-old. I invest in early-stage startups, and that includes YC companies. I wouldn't invest in a company with that attitude for a very simple reason: they are handicapping themselves. I know what I'm capable of doing right now compared to when I was 25. Maybe I would be a great complement to my 25-year-old self. The attitude reminds me of this: "Bill Gates recalls once being invited to speak in Saudi Arabia and finding himself facing a segregated audience. Four-fifths of the listeners were men, on the left. The remaining one-fifth were women, all covered in black cloaks and veils, on the right. A partition separated the two groups. Toward the end, in the question-and-answer session, a member of the audience noted that Saudi Arabia aimed to be one of the Top 10 countries in the world in technology by 2010 and asked if that was realistic. “Well, if you’re not fully utilizing half the talent in the country,” Gates said, “you’re not going to get too close to the Top 10.” The small group on the right erupted in wild cheering." http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/23/magazine/23Women-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/23/magazine/23Women-t.html?pa...