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Going to Startup School this weekend and getting ready for a YC submission, a similar question is very much on my mind, the only difference is that rather than

by Jun8 12y ago

Going to Startup School this weekend and getting ready for a YC submission, a similar question is very much on my mind, the only difference is that rather than early 30s I'm in my 40s! I think that the age related difficulty factors you cite increase exponentially with age. The real problem is not a failed startup but finding out in 1-2 years that you're really not cut out for this type of life, due to many factors, some of which you listed. Starting startups in your 20s and even in 30s is a no brainer: even if you want to go back to the corporate world in 3-5 years you still have many years assuming a cut off competitive employment age of around, say 55 (not the same thing as retirement); yet, if you're in your 40s you're getting dangerously close to the age where it becomes difficult to apply to large companies. The remaining options become starting another startup and freelancing. This means that an important lifeline that's available to young founders is not there for such older founders.

mindcrime 12y ago
if you're in your 40s you're getting dangerously close to the age where it becomes difficult to apply to large companies. The remaining options become starting another startup and freelancing I guess it depends on how you define "large company" but that sounds suspiciously like a "fallacy of the excluded middle" scenario to me. I'd say there are a lot of other options... there are plenty of established - but not large - companies out there to work for, where being 40+ isn't going to be a negative. And there's always consulting where you're getting paid exactly for your accumulated experience and wisdom. Or one could opt for a "lifestyle business" of some sort. I don't mean to say that age discrimination doesn't exist, or that it doesn't get somewhat harder to find work as one ages, under at least some circumstances. But if one keeps current on the skills and talents that are in-demand and desirable, I have found it quite possible to remain highly sought after at 40+. To use my own example, even though I'm not looking for a job... I get calls from recruiters pretty much every freaking day. And while they don't necessarily know my exact age, you can tell about how long I've been working from my LinkedIn profile and could come up with a fairly accurate approximation of my age without much trouble. But yet they keep calling.

by Jun8 12y ago

mindcrime 12y ago

if you're in your 40s you're getting dangerously close to the age where it becomes difficult to apply to large companies. The remaining options become starting another startup and freelancing I guess it depends on how you define "large company" but that sounds suspiciously like a "fallacy of the excluded middle" scenario to me. I'd say there are a lot of other options... there are plenty of established - but not large - companies out there to work for, where being 40+ isn't going to be a negative. And there's always consulting where you're getting paid exactly for your accumulated experience and wisdom. Or one could opt for a "lifestyle business" of some sort. I don't mean to say that age discrimination doesn't exist, or that it doesn't get somewhat harder to find work as one ages, under at least some circumstances. But if one keeps current on the skills and talents that are in-demand and desirable, I have found it quite possible to remain highly sought after at 40+. To use my own example, even though I'm not looking for a job... I get calls from recruiters pretty much every freaking day. And while they don't necessarily know my exact age, you can tell about how long I've been working from my LinkedIn profile and could come up with a fairly accurate approximation of my age without much trouble. But yet they keep calling.