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Research: The Average Age of a Successful Startup Founder Is 45
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Re: Research: The Average Age of a Successful Startup Founder Is 45
#112These studies often ignore the power law. The vast majority of value generated in tech is powered by a tiny number of companies. Here are the five most valuable tech companies as of 2017 vs. the age of the founders: 1. Apple: $570.7B explained - Jobs: 21 - Woz: 26 2. Alphabet: $560B - Larry/Sergey: 25ish 3. Microsoft: $434B - Gates: 19 - Allen: 22 4. Amazon: $365B - Bezos: 29 5. Facebook: $354B - Zuckerberg: 19
Salesforce: $111B
- Benioff: 35
Re: Research: The Average Age of a Successful Startup Founder Is 45
#113These studies often ignore the power law. The vast majority of value generated in tech is powered by a tiny number of companies. Here are the five most valuable tech companies as of 2017 vs. the age of the founders: 1. Apple: $570.7B explained - Jobs: 21 - Woz: 26 2. Alphabet: $560B - Larry/Sergey: 25ish 3. Microsoft: $434B - Gates: 19 - Allen: 22 4. Amazon: $365B - Bezos: 29 5. Facebook: $354B - Zuckerberg: 19
Salesforce: $111B - Benioff: 35 Oh well.
Netflix: $147B
- Reid Hastings: 37
Oh well pt II
Re: Research: The Average Age of a Successful Startup Founder Is 45
#114I don't get all the "entrepreneur" founder worship stuff. The disconnected tech set has produced a lot of money - and burned a lot more. They've ruined our ability to connect to each other so that we could connect on Facebook. They've ruined sidewalks with scooters, lost all of our data, participated in tracking us at all times, helped ICE deport children, and made a wage slaves out of people at the bottom of the soc…
But this is simply wrong, at least partly. Yes, your criticisms of many of these tech founders and youth fetishism in general are right in certain ways but these existing companies help millions of people all the time.
Facebook is used for a lot of vapid social media posing, but it also serves as a platform for millions of social protest and communication movements worldwide. The same for twitter (possibly even more). I've seen both used amazingly well by people at a grassroots level where I live to communicate news that the government and organized crime try to censor in normal media with deadly violence.
Amazon is considered a vast exploiter of cheap labor and a crusher of "mom&pop" businesses, but it also frees millions of people to instantly sell their offerings online, while offering honestly useful savings and product access to millions of others.
And as for Google, besides all the serious and real criticisms of it, there are numerous benefits too, so many of such a scale that we almost seem to take them for granted as part of the daily tech background, until we really pause to consider what that company has done for access to information at zero cost on a global scale.
Tech founders of all kinds and especially the young tech founders of the giants have already helped millions and possibly billions of people all over the world. That they became billionaires and in some cases narcissistic snoops in the process doesn't eliminate what their technologies have done to benefit the world.
Re: Research: The Average Age of a Successful Startup Founder Is 45
#115It is interesting to see that a successful startup is defined as being the top 1% of employment growth in its first 5 years. I wonder if Theranos would've also been included in this definition. In some culture, selling your own company or having no revenue are considered failures. Yet those "failures" are common theme in the valley.
In my own startup experiences, whatever founders goals may be, startups are successful (only?) when they exit their startup phase with goals achieved.
Re: Research: The Average Age of a Successful Startup Founder Is 45
#116Earlier quoted context omitted.
Speaking as someone who is 50, I would say you have 2 choices: take your risks early so you have time to recover from them before you retire, or take a very low risk approach to your early career and save a lot of money so that you can afford to take risks later in your career.
3) work for big corp, have idea that can't be done small, and successfully pitch internally. Move vertically internally. Not as sexy, but much more likely to succeed if your goal is the idea.
Only works if your company sees you as a potential partner.
Which is why one of the strongest criteria I have now with a company, is whether or not they would consider doing a joint deal.
You are far more likely to be treated as a peon, or someone to rob, (or beat down with lawsuits) in todays corporate climate. Most of the executive staff, is straight up sociopathic bootlickers.
I cannot tell you how many times I correctly called, major market shifts (what would now be called "disruptive") only to have it fall on deaf ears and watch some competitor rise to new heights months to a year later (and eat their lunch).
Re: Research: The Average Age of a Successful Startup Founder Is 45
#117I don't get all the "entrepreneur" founder worship stuff. The disconnected tech set has produced a lot of money - and burned a lot more. They've ruined our ability to connect to each other so that we could connect on Facebook. They've ruined sidewalks with scooters, lost all of our data, participated in tracking us at all times, helped ICE deport children, and made a wage slaves out of people at the bottom of the soc…
One of the reasons I passed on the 2000's was the only things founded were quite destructive to society as a whole. Only to be eclipsed by the 2010's (which are objectively, much much worse).
I come back to it now, and the culture, is complete crap, and to be blunt, delusional.
Re: Research: The Average Age of a Successful Startup Founder Is 45
#118I have been an entrepreneur for 17 years and am now “middle aged”. In my early years, I made many, many mistakes that could probably be pegged to youthful hubris. I also had no idea how to run a real business because I had scant experience even working for one let alone crafting anything approaching a “go to market plan”. If I were to start a new company today, I would probably lack the carefree creativity of a 23-ye…
Perhaps, but I would be careful to apply 'older execute better' as a general explanation for the study result.
It's possible but selection bias could also be playing a huge role here.
I can't imagine a more risky period to step out of a 'career' and become a founder than 45. So it's possible people making the leap at this age are a lot more certain about their chances of success before taking the plunge than younger (and much older) people who have less to lose.
Re: Research: The Average Age of a Successful Startup Founder Is 45
#119I've compiled and added to this list over time. When you go digging for how old the founders of major tech companies have been, you'll find they're overwhelmingly closer to their mid 30s, nearly all are over ~27, with plenty in their 40s. Exceptionally few have been like Gates, Jobs and Zuckerberg. If you're 30 and you think it's too late, it's not, you may not have even hit your prime yet. Ages of founders: Paul Gra…
This is a great list!
It would be nice if you put it up as a table in Markdown on your GitHub so others can contribute additions or corrections, along with citations.
Re: Research: The Average Age of a Successful Startup Founder Is 45
#120Earlier quoted context omitted.
There's an important difference between "dropped out of undergrad because you were failing" and "quit your course because your company succeeded so hard that finishing your course was irrelevant." You probably wouldn't be sceptical of a managing director of a medical research company who'd dropped out of med school when they reached 10+ employees.
I would be very skeptical actually. I might point to Theranos as an example of just what you describe too.
Given how many people believed in Theranos I think it's fair to say that their founder was pretty credible, despite the ultimate outcome.