4 ms·
This industry has an unhealthy obsession with youth.
by numair 17y ago
This industry has an unhealthy obsession with youth.
- nreece 17y agoMaybe because the youth lay a healthy lesson for the "mature", or in other words, because there are 365/366 tomorrows but only 1 today.
- MicahWedemeyer 17y agoYeah, there really is no weight given to experience. There is a feeling that youthful enthusiasm can overcome all. Not that I'm anywhere near a genius now, but I'm lightyears ahead of how clueless I was when I started down the startup road. Then again, all that experience came from stumbling through, not just getting older, so the earlier you start, the quicker you can take your beating.
- kiba 17y agoWisdom and experience is the function of age if and only if you got a nice feedback mechanism to drive you in the correct direction. Even so, a strong curiosty is required to exploit any unorthodox opportunities to increase not only your wisdom, experience, but also knowledge as well. Entrepeneurship at an early age is an excellent way to increase wisdom.
- robryan 17y agoCombined with a low bar to getting noticed and thought of as successful.
- zaidf 17y agoThat's the biggest trap many of these kids will need to avoid. When you are a kid everything is cute and celebrated. I say that having been there! Then you slowly grow up and realize all that stuff doesn't matter that much. Especially in light of things like revenue and profit.
- deleted 17y ago[deleted]
- amichail 17y agoThe reason that this is newsworthy is because such people are rare. Also newsworthy in this vein: "Why the Granny Coder decided to make her first iPhone game aged 77" http://www.pocketgamer.biz/r/PG.Biz/Gelex/news.asp?c=15588 http://www.pocketgamer.biz/r/PG.Biz/Gelex/news.asp?c=15588
- unalone 17y agoWhat bothers me about posts like this is the unspoken underlying assumption that the younger you are when you start, the more "valuable" you are as an entrepreneur. Like, if you start at 12 then you're a better person than you are if you start at 13. There's a similar age obsession in writing and in fencing, both of which I was involved in during high school. I find that certain other fields, music especially, are a bit more level-headed.
- ams6110 17y agoI don't know about music being level headed. It's not uncommon for parents who think their kid is a prodigy to have them in violin classes at age 3 or 4. I don't know if the music community itself thinks this is good or bad, though.
- unalone 17y agoPractice at a young age isn't a bad thing. But the music community, while it acknowledges prodigies, usually doesn't appreciate music more or less based on age. The first example that comes to mind is Chris Thile, who was in a Grammy Award-winning band at 12. He was a prodigy, yes, but he became famous not for that but for the music he produced.
- markbao 17y agoAs one of the people featured in that article, I would agree with you. A lot of what the industry calls 'teen entrepreneurs' are teens first, entrepreneurs second. That is to say, the industry collectively cuts teen entrepreneurs slack because they're teens, which is counterproductive not only the industry but to the individuals themselves. The less popular alternative definition and the one I strive to achieve is an entrepreneur who is also a teen. And in this case, when they do something that deviates from the standard entrepreneur, there isn't the excuse of 'oh--that's okay--he's a teen!!11' Although that doesn't mean I won't reap the rewards of starting out early. :)