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Starting a Business at 60: My Father's Story

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Re: Starting a Business at 60: My Father's Story

#11

Post by bachmeier »

clauderoux wrote: post #4

I reached 60 this year... So please give me a break with this idea that you are old at 60 in 2024. My mind is as sharp as it was 20 years ago... I have decided to train myself on LLMs after years of research in computational linguistics, the old way with grammar rules. And this experience in linguistics has proven so far quite rich as it gives me a different take on these incredible tools. This idea that you should d…

Yeah, the idea that you can't do something like this at 60 is just the rambling of someone that doesn't know what they don't know. Not as bad as the comments on HN that talk about cognitive decline at 40, but still badly uninformed.

Re: Starting a Business at 60: My Father's Story

#12

Post by sabbaticaldev »

bachmeier wrote: post #11
clauderoux wrote: post #4

I reached 60 this year... So please give me a break with this idea that you are old at 60 in 2024. My mind is as sharp as it was 20 years ago... I have decided to train myself on LLMs after years of research in computational linguistics, the old way with grammar rules. And this experience in linguistics has proven so far quite rich as it gives me a different take on these incredible tools. This idea that you should d…

Yeah, the idea that you can't do something like this at 60 is just the rambling of someone that doesn't know what they don't know. Not as bad as the comments on HN that talk about cognitive decline at 40, but still badly uninformed.

old men yelling at clouds

nobody said they can’t. Statistics show they don’t do it the at the same rate so it’s an accomplishment when some do

Re: Starting a Business at 60: My Father's Story

#13

Post by bachmeier »

sabbaticaldev wrote: post #12
bachmeier wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, the idea that you can't do something like this at 60 is just the rambling of someone that doesn't know what they don't know. Not as bad as the comments on HN that talk about cognitive decline at 40, but still badly uninformed.

old men yelling at clouds nobody said they can’t. Statistics show they don’t do it the at the same rate so it’s an accomplishment when some do

Well, nobody except the author of the article we're commenting on.

> At first, I doubted if he could run a business at his age. I wanted him to relax at home.

As for this

> Statistics show they don’t do it the at the same rate so it’s an accomplishment when some do

51% of US business owners are at least 55: https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/2020/comm/busi...

Re: Starting a Business at 60: My Father's Story

#14

Post by taylorius »

sabbaticaldev wrote: post #12
bachmeier wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, the idea that you can't do something like this at 60 is just the rambling of someone that doesn't know what they don't know. Not as bad as the comments on HN that talk about cognitive decline at 40, but still badly uninformed.

old men yelling at clouds nobody said they can’t. Statistics show they don’t do it the at the same rate so it’s an accomplishment when some do

Plenty of people have definitely said they can't. But the lesson is - just don't listen to anyone, because nobody knows the future, and you can do whatever you want and let the chips fall where they may!

Re: Starting a Business at 60: My Father's Story

#15

Post by sage76 »

james-bcn wrote: post #7
clauderoux wrote: post #4

I reached 60 this year... So please give me a break with this idea that you are old at 60 in 2024. My mind is as sharp as it was 20 years ago... I have decided to train myself on LLMs after years of research in computational linguistics, the old way with grammar rules. And this experience in linguistics has proven so far quite rich as it gives me a different take on these incredible tools. This idea that you should d…

Agreed. As someone in my mid-50's I find the attitude to many people towards age really bizarre. I've just got back from trail running in the mountains. I'm fitter and healthier now than I was in my mid-30s, and haven't noticed any kind of cognitive decline at all, in fact I think I'm much more mentally able now because I read a lot and so have picked up a lot of knowledge. The only noticeable change is now I have to…

There's people who call themselves old at 30. I don't know if it is an excuse or what....but it's weird.

I know a 50 year old personally who finished ironman triathlon.

Re: Starting a Business at 60: My Father's Story

#16

Post by james-bcn »

sage76 wrote: post #15
james-bcn wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. As someone in my mid-50's I find the attitude to many people towards age really bizarre. I've just got back from trail running in the mountains. I'm fitter and healthier now than I was in my mid-30s, and haven't noticed any kind of cognitive decline at all, in fact I think I'm much more mentally able now because I read a lot and so have picked up a lot of knowledge. The only noticeable change is now I have to…

There's people who call themselves old at 30. I don't know if it is an excuse or what....but it's weird. I know a 50 year old personally who finished ironman triathlon.

Yes I had someone the other day ask me if they were too old to study a subject at 35... I find it very weird. I think if you don't exercise, and you don't learn new things, you probably do start feeling old pretty quickly.

Re: Starting a Business at 60: My Father's Story

#17

Post by jasode »

bachmeier wrote: post #13
sabbaticaldev wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

old men yelling at clouds nobody said they can’t. Statistics show they don’t do it the at the same rate so it’s an accomplishment when some do

Well, nobody except the author of the article we're commenting on. > At first, I doubted if he could run a business at his age. I wanted him to relax at home. As for this > Statistics show they don’t do it the at the same rate so it’s an accomplishment when some do 51% of US business owners are at least 55: https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/2020/comm/busi...

>51% of US business owners are at least 55: https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/2020/comm/busi...

The impetus of this particular thread and context of gp (sabbaticaldev) comment is "starting" a business at age 60.

On the other hand, your cite seems to be survey of all businesses and gets a snapshot of whatever ages the business owners happen to be when the survey was done. In other words, maybe many of those 55+ business owners started when they were much younger?

Re: Starting a Business at 60: My Father's Story

#18

Post by yodsanklai »

clauderoux wrote: post #4

I reached 60 this year... So please give me a break with this idea that you are old at 60 in 2024. My mind is as sharp as it was 20 years ago... I have decided to train myself on LLMs after years of research in computational linguistics, the old way with grammar rules. And this experience in linguistics has proven so far quite rich as it gives me a different take on these incredible tools. This idea that you should d…

> So please give me a break with this idea that you are old at 60 in 2024

Well, brain decline is documented and starts well before 60, but maybe we're not equal. I'm 50, and I can tell my mind isn't as sharp as it used to be. My memory isn't as good, and I feel complex mental tasks require more energy. It seems I've lost a layer of cache. That being said, I'm not done yet, I'm still able to do my job (SWE in a competitive environment where my colleagues are much younger).

Re: Starting a Business at 60: My Father's Story

#19

Post by devjab »

sabbaticaldev wrote: post #12
bachmeier wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, the idea that you can't do something like this at 60 is just the rambling of someone that doesn't know what they don't know. Not as bad as the comments on HN that talk about cognitive decline at 40, but still badly uninformed.

old men yelling at clouds nobody said they can’t. Statistics show they don’t do it the at the same rate so it’s an accomplishment when some do

Which statistics are those? https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/podcast/knowledge-at-wha... seems to indicate that 45 or 55 are the “best” ages to start a business. And since the average was 42 between 2007 and 2014 it would seem to indicate that at least a good amount of founders are “old”.

If I were to guess I think most founders would be either young or above middle age. Living “poor” is less of a problem when you’re young, and then once your children grow up and you have both experience and stable finances you’re again free of a lot of life’s responsibilities. Meanwhile you’re likely going to be struggling to even find enough hours in your life to take a shower in your 30-40ies with small kids and jobs, and you’re also likely to actually depend on paychecks during this period.

Re: Starting a Business at 60: My Father's Story

#20

Post by Gud »

yodsanklai wrote: post #18
clauderoux wrote: post #4

I reached 60 this year... So please give me a break with this idea that you are old at 60 in 2024. My mind is as sharp as it was 20 years ago... I have decided to train myself on LLMs after years of research in computational linguistics, the old way with grammar rules. And this experience in linguistics has proven so far quite rich as it gives me a different take on these incredible tools. This idea that you should d…

> So please give me a break with this idea that you are old at 60 in 2024 Well, brain decline is documented and starts well before 60, but maybe we're not equal. I'm 50, and I can tell my mind isn't as sharp as it used to be. My memory isn't as good, and I feel complex mental tasks require more energy. It seems I've lost a layer of cache. That being said, I'm not done yet, I'm still able to do my job (SWE in a compet…

Have you been taking good care of yourself?

I imagine people who are staying healthy are more likely to have a healthy brain.

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