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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

#131

Post by pimmen »

Alex3917 wrote: post #32
rm_-rf_slash wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>My 21 year old self just loved to build unnecessary, complex shit When time and energy feel infinite, the perceived cost of wasting either feels low; the real cost remains the same.

> the real cost remains the same. The cost is actually much higher when you’re younger because of the time-value of money. It just doesn’t feel that way because the immediate consequences are lower.

I however do feel that the best way to learn that you're wasting time with overly-complex solutions is to suffer the consequences for it, and the earlier you suffer them the better. So, I would say that wasting time (as long as it doesn't take long for you to realize you're the one who f'ed it up) when you're young has a high benefit, too. You learned it the hard way.

Re: Research: The Average Age of a Successful Startup Founder Is 45

#132

Post by pimmen »

camelite wrote: post #128
georgewsinger wrote: post #84

These 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

Jobs was 49 when iPhone development began.

And before the mid 90s, Apple was in constant peril of being wiped out.

Re: Research: The Average Age of a Successful Startup Founder Is 45

#133

Post by AstralStorm »

jowiar wrote: post #90
opportune wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“Non-technical cofounder in early 20s” sounds like a massive red flag to me. Ideas are cheap, execution is what matters

Execution is not just technical. Sales, marketing, fundraising, recruiting, hiring, design/product, media, strategy, etc...

But if you have no technical innovation or your innovation is trivial to clone, then you don't have a startup.

Many startups fail because they're actually not innovative. Nobody needs another database from a tiny company that is just tiny bit better. No matter how good rest of your offering is, bigger does often mean better.

Other fail due to entanglements, especially hardware ones. Their supply chain fails and that's that. No amount of media will help and you cannot afford to hedge this kind of risk.

Re: Research: The Average Age of a Successful Startup Founder Is 45

#134

Post by wbhart »

ramblerman wrote: post #118
ttul wrote: post #4

I 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…

I'm not sure that becoming a founder at 45 is likely to be successful. It is surely because successful founders have many failures under their belt that the average successful founder is 45. This implies that stepping out at 45 is not the way to be successful.

Re: Research: The Average Age of a Successful Startup Founder Is 45

#135

Post by AstralStorm »

SmellyGeekBoy wrote: post #125
taneq wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> ...non-technical cofounder [...] had a great idea for a product and was looking for a technical co-founder As an aside, maybe I just don't 'get it' or maybe I've just met bad examples but this scenario always reads to me like "guy wants someone to do the work for him so he can be the boss". Good ideas are cheap. Execution is the hard bit.

"Execution" also includes selling the product and securing funding. A good non-technical co-founder handles all of this side of things so the technical guy can get on and write the code.

Without actual code you will fail after round 1. Even the best salesman can weasel for funding only for so long.

If the product is not innovative or much better than competitors, you will fail in a later round and best exit you can hope for is an acquihire.

This is why many startups fail, their ideas are meh and/or the execution does not follow.

Re: Research: The Average Age of a Successful Startup Founder Is 45

#136

Post by AstralStorm »

mastazi wrote: post #122
taneq wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> ...non-technical cofounder [...] had a great idea for a product and was looking for a technical co-founder As an aside, maybe I just don't 'get it' or maybe I've just met bad examples but this scenario always reads to me like "guy wants someone to do the work for him so he can be the boss". Good ideas are cheap. Execution is the hard bit.

It seems you are assuming that execution is done mostly by technical co-founders. I would argue that many crucial aspects of what we categorise as "execution" are non-technical business aspects.

Are they now? What kind of aspects are you talking about?

Hiring? Ensuring funding? How long can those two last without a truly superior product?

Re: Research: The Average Age of a Successful Startup Founder Is 45

#137

Post by mastazi »

AstralStorm wrote: post #136
mastazi wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems you are assuming that execution is done mostly by technical co-founders. I would argue that many crucial aspects of what we categorise as "execution" are non-technical business aspects.

Are they now? What kind of aspects are you talking about? Hiring? Ensuring funding? How long can those two last without a truly superior product?

In my opinion business factors like hiring and ensuring funding are way more important than having a superior product. Betamax was technically superior compared to VHS, Amiga OS was a better product than DOS, etc. etc.

Other non-technical factors, besides the ones you mentioned, are related to company culture, sales, HR and talent retention. Just a few examples that I can think of right now, there are many more of course.

Re: Research: The Average Age of a Successful Startup Founder Is 45

#138

Post by aswanson »

replicatorblog wrote: post #96
aswanson wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your sample size is low. How many tech startups can you rattle off in total, period?. I assure you it's insignificant compared to the complete sum.

That's fair, but how many 45+ founders can you rattle off, who have founded companies with $10M+ in revenue?

Off the top of my head without checking, the intel guys, marc pincus & reed hastings.

Re: Research: The Average Age of a Successful Startup Founder Is 45

#139

Post by baccheion »

ttul wrote: post #4

I 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…

To regain youthful energy/creativity, you could try increasing testosterone. Even topical pregnenolone + DHEA (5 mg : 5 mg) along with a multivitamin + D & K + chelated/TRAACS magnesium supplement may be effective. Given your age, there are also anti-aging benefits. Iodine protocol. MSM lotion.

Would execution ability have been sufficiently improved by reading/observing more? What makes you now better at executing?

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