Davidreiss, I want to address some of your points and then will drop the topic as it is clear that we are going to have to agree to disagree on many points. Please understand that I am not trying to be argumentative or abrasive, just trying to push back or give some food for thought.
>if you haven't moved up in tech/management/etc ladder by your late 30s/40s, there just isn't a place for you in SV/tech startup scene>
Not all tech companies are founded by people from the tech industry. Noted futurist Joel Barker posited that transformational change in product and leadership comes more often from those outside the industry than within because those outside see the bigger picture than those who have been intricately involved. Your statement of "as much as experience is touted, it's not worth much in the startup scene" seems to imply that you at least on some level agree.
>You talk about your 20 hour days, not going home, doing what it takes to meet deliverable timelines and that this extended period could last for 2 weeks. And you state, "the startup scene is such a raw, all or nothing, winner-take all scene that it'll always be a young man's game.">.
I submit that it is the driven persons game. One of my cofounders and I obtained our doctorates a few years ago when we were late 30's and very early 40's. We both worked at minimum full-time (me on average 65 hrs a week) while getting all 58 hrs of coursework and our dissertation written and defended in 27 months start to finish. We averaged 4 hrs of sleep a night over these 27 months. We both had kids at home. Over the last 8 weeks leading up to defense we still worked our normal FT employment and completed revision and defending our individual dissertations while averaging 5-7 hours of sleep a week. We both successfully defended at our first attempt. I don't think it is a young man's game; it is the determined person's game. It is about determination, perseverance and belief in ourselves and supporting each other's success.
>"Younger people are seen as more innovative....". Henry Kaiser (63) of Kaiser Permanente; Ray Kroc (52) McDomald's; Dr. Thomas Frist(58) HCA; Bernard Marcus (49) Home Depot...to name a few would not agree. Innovation is about seeing a solution to a problem and then creating the solution people want. Founders are capable of finding those who compliment themselves and have skill sets that they lack to build their team. It isn't about being a top tier programmer, it is about being a passionate leader.
>Would you really be willing to hire overpaid 40 year olds who have to be home by 5 or 6 pm?>
All I can say to that is life in SV must really be different because I do not know a single person who has to be home by 5 or 6. I have always worked on average 60 hours + a week even when I had kids at home. Our technical leader is a successful tech entrepreneur who had a very successful exit and has no need to work but does so because despite his success he is creative and innovative by nature. We have supportive encouraging families. They are as committed to us as we are to them.
>VCs love to fund younger founders. That's where the innovation/energy/risk-appetite is.>
I think you are talking about a specific type of individual that is not always defined by age.
>And as you grow older you get more conservative and set in your ways. >
That may be true for you but that is not true for myself or my co-founders. Fortunately we are not dependent on SV to see our project funded as we can shoulder the risk. Yes it would be wonderful to have an opportunity to participate in YC (which by the way all three of us could commit to without any issues with spouses/or family difficulties), it is clear that we are not of the diversity that YC desires.
>SV and the VC community isn't about charity or societal good, it's about making money.>
You might want to let YC know that they aren't about charity because they do fund non-profits. We on the other hand are about societal good AND making money so that we can make positive changes in many lives and communities.
Thanks for your input as we are SV outsiders and are well aware that it is in our best interest to be familiar with the expectations and attitudes we will encounter when we launch in 2018.