5 ms·

Your mindset is exactly why pg refuses to invest in anyone over 35; they've become unable to take risks due to commitments.

sillysaurus3 12y ago
I don't think pg would behave like that, let alone say that. He was 29 when he started Viaweb, which is not far from 35. YC has funded people over 35 as well.
- anonbanker 12y ago
  I love that I'm being downvoted for quoting pg.
  - kbenson 12y ago
    You didn't exactly quote him, you stated his opinion and reasoning, without clarifying if it was your interpretation or his direct statement, and included no reference. That said, I generally agree with the sentiment. People with commitments are less free to play with their resources, at least if they are responsible. An who wants to invest in someone who's not responsible. There are, of course, exceptions, and even times when the opposite holds true; commitments can force a level of responsibility and drive because the stakes may be higher.
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
  - noblethrasher 12y ago
    The closest thing that I can find that pg has said on the matter is that good hackers between about 23 and 38 should start a company. He said 38 was the upper bound because the simple reality is that the affordability of risk declines with age. But, even then he said that there was a lot of play in that number. Source: http://www.paulgraham.com/start.html http://www.paulgraham.com/start.html
  - dang 12y ago
    It wasn't because you quoted pg; you didn't quote pg. The downvotes were more likely because the comment was false (pg and YC invest in plenty of founders over 35) and unduly personal ("your mindset is exactly why...").
    - anonbanker 12y ago
      I know what I read, and I accept that I'm being downvoted for not citing a source, but not for misquoting pg. I am tempted to see if blind devotion to pg leads to downvotes, but I doubt HN would care. :-)
nsxwolf 12y ago
Perfectly fine by me. Running a business the way pg wants you to would probably make you a pretty lousy parent.
SwellJoe 12y ago
I believe my co-founder and I were the oldest founders ever funded by YC at the time (in 2007) and I was 33 and my co-founder was, I think, 34 with a wife and two kids. The batch after ours had a couple of folks in their 40s, and I think the average age has crept up a bit over time, though the founders do tend to still be quite young.
Kurtz79 12y ago
Funny then that this whole discussion is about a 40+ years old guy risking his fortune on a single project.

sillysaurus3 12y ago

I don't think pg would behave like that, let alone say that. He was 29 when he started Viaweb, which is not far from 35. YC has funded people over 35 as well.

anonbanker 12y ago
I love that I'm being downvoted for quoting pg.
- kbenson 12y ago
  You didn't exactly quote him, you stated his opinion and reasoning, without clarifying if it was your interpretation or his direct statement, and included no reference. That said, I generally agree with the sentiment. People with commitments are less free to play with their resources, at least if they are responsible. An who wants to invest in someone who's not responsible. There are, of course, exceptions, and even times when the opposite holds true; commitments can force a level of responsibility and drive because the stakes may be higher.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- noblethrasher 12y ago
  The closest thing that I can find that pg has said on the matter is that good hackers between about 23 and 38 should start a company. He said 38 was the upper bound because the simple reality is that the affordability of risk declines with age. But, even then he said that there was a lot of play in that number. Source: http://www.paulgraham.com/start.html http://www.paulgraham.com/start.html
- dang 12y ago
  It wasn't because you quoted pg; you didn't quote pg. The downvotes were more likely because the comment was false (pg and YC invest in plenty of founders over 35) and unduly personal ("your mindset is exactly why...").
  - anonbanker 12y ago
    I know what I read, and I accept that I'm being downvoted for not citing a source, but not for misquoting pg. I am tempted to see if blind devotion to pg leads to downvotes, but I doubt HN would care. :-)

nsxwolf 12y ago

Perfectly fine by me. Running a business the way pg wants you to would probably make you a pretty lousy parent.

SwellJoe 12y ago

I believe my co-founder and I were the oldest founders ever funded by YC at the time (in 2007) and I was 33 and my co-founder was, I think, 34 with a wife and two kids. The batch after ours had a couple of folks in their 40s, and I think the average age has crept up a bit over time, though the founders do tend to still be quite young.

Kurtz79 12y ago

Funny then that this whole discussion is about a 40+ years old guy risking his fortune on a single project.