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When It Comes To Founding Successful Startups, Old Guys Rule

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Re: When It Comes To Founding Successful Startups, Old Guys Rule

#31

Post by andreyf »

pclark wrote: post #14
stingraycharles wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have to keep in mind the audience Techcrunch is appealing to: a lot of these rockstars probably really think wisdom comes with intelligence instead of the years. What I'm wondering about, though, is the rest of these younger entrepreneurs: I understand that the older entrepreneurs of course make better decisions, but I wonder how much of these younger entrepreneurs (wrongfully) think they are just as capable, and…

I'm 21 and CEO of a startup and I don't know shit - I'm not even that smart - hence why I talk and listen to as many smart people as I can. I like to think I'm pretty good at working out what advice is good advice... I also feel the only way to learn properly is to do it. You'll only follow someone's advice so far till your gut sets in and you need to make your own path - even if that requires being proved wrong.

I like to think I'm pretty good at working out what advice is good advice...

What makes you think that? In my experience, it's pretty easy to be talked both out of a good idea and into a bad one.

Re: When It Comes To Founding Successful Startups, Old Guys Rule

#32

Post by jacquesm »

yters wrote: post #27
erlanger wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Classism, ageism, racism...all prejudices are to be avoided, regardless of the era.

According to intelligent design theory (IDT), everyone is very capable of providing good advice, and people are always better than anything else at giving you information. This is because IDT shows no computational device or mechanism can actually create information, only people can do so. And, any person can do so, not only special people. This is because people have free will and intelligence (i.e. are intelligent…

What is falsifiable about your IDT ?

Re: When It Comes To Founding Successful Startups, Old Guys Rule

#33

Post by andreyf »

yters wrote: post #30
1gor wrote: post #8

I have a theory why successful 'old' guys come as such a surprise. It is because a 'young founder' is largely a product of propaganda. Young guys are mercilessly exploited by VC crowd. Venture Capitalists and startup-buying companies like Google (should I also add incubators like YC?) need to maintain 'young is good' thesis to attract the supply of fresh cannon fodder. The truth is that a VC sits on a portfolio of un…

I've been curious about the phenomena of successful young startups in the media. Has the media always concentrated on such stories, exploiting people's hope to become an instant millionaire? Or is it a recent phenomena generated by the internet millionaires?

At least since the 1690's: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_rush

Re: When It Comes To Founding Successful Startups, Old Guys Rule

#34

Post by jacquesm »

pg wrote: post #15
1gor wrote: post #8

I have a theory why successful 'old' guys come as such a surprise. It is because a 'young founder' is largely a product of propaganda. Young guys are mercilessly exploited by VC crowd. Venture Capitalists and startup-buying companies like Google (should I also add incubators like YC?) need to maintain 'young is good' thesis to attract the supply of fresh cannon fodder. The truth is that a VC sits on a portfolio of un…

Your theory is about a third right. Young founders do get more attention from the press. But not because of propaganda campaigns by their investors. The press doesn't have to be talked into it: they already have a bias toward writing about young founders. And it's definitely false that VCs prefer founders who are young because they can be pushed around. VCs are very unlikely to invest in someone they can push around.…

Are you willing to share the number of companies YC has invested in where founders were in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s or older ?

Re: When It Comes To Founding Successful Startups, Old Guys Rule

#35

Post by jacquesm »

philwelch wrote: post #24
sriramk wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to derail the conversation but when did 40 become 'old'? I'm just a decade and a half from that age and that isn't long. I'd probably consider 60 or 70 to be old. Not 40.

"Old" is relative to context. 40 is old for a startup founder or professional athlete. 40 is young for a presidential candidate or a CEO at a big, pre-existing company. 40 is old for a stripper, but young for a retiree.

> 40 is old for a startup founder

Where did you get that from ?

The media bias seems to be to put the focus on the younger ones because they usually make 'hip' stuff. But when it comes to building solid businesses the older crowd is definitely not to be underestimated.

All founders of start-ups eventually become 40+, they have more experience than the younger generation and they're bound to do it again.

Unless their original start-up became a regular business and they have to keep running it. Decades fly by like that...

Re: When It Comes To Founding Successful Startups, Old Guys Rule

#36

Post by andreyf »

dannyr wrote: post #23
callmeed wrote: post #16

Wasn't there a big to-do at Revenue Bootcamp with PG and Mike Moritz? Didn't Moritz dismiss/dodge questions about "older" (> 30) founders? (see: http://www.thefunded.com/funds/item/5749 ) Aren't most YC founders It's curious.

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=638350 from pg: "There are quite a lot of founders over 30. I don't know exactly how many because we don't keep track of ages. The sharp falloff is around 35, but we've had a handful of founders over 40. None over 50 though. I think our age distribution is probably close to the age distribution for startups generally. We've funded more founders who are 27 than 20 or 35 because more…

I think our age distribution is probably close to the age distribution for startups generally.

That can't be right - surely there is a correlation between the value of that YC provides and the amount of time one has spent in industry. I'd imagine that once one has $50k in savings, and has worked with law firms, knows angels and VC's, the value of YC funding drops drastically. Hence, I'd imagine older (more experienced) founders wouldn't be as interested in YC as, say, students in their early 20's.

Re: When It Comes To Founding Successful Startups, Old Guys Rule

#37

Post by jamiequint »

"Old guys know better than to sign a term-sheet loaded with a nasty double-trigger option acceleration that would consign the founders to indentured servitude for years after a liquidity event."

Are there any VCs that would agree to single trigger acceleration? I was under the impression that 25% acceleration on acquisition with a double trigger was pretty standard.

Re: When It Comes To Founding Successful Startups, Old Guys Rule

#38

Post by callmeed »

andreyf wrote: post #36
dannyr wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=638350 from pg: "There are quite a lot of founders over 30. I don't know exactly how many because we don't keep track of ages. The sharp falloff is around 35, but we've had a handful of founders over 40. None over 50 though. I think our age distribution is probably close to the age distribution for startups generally. We've funded more founders who are 27 than 20 or 35 because more…

I think our age distribution is probably close to the age distribution for startups generally. That can't be right - surely there is a correlation between the value of that YC provides and the amount of time one has spent in industry. I'd imagine that once one has $50k in savings, and has worked with law firms, knows angels and VC's, the value of YC funding drops drastically. Hence, I'd imagine older (more experience…

True, but ...

"Half (maybe more) of the startups we fund don't need the money. And in fact the money is a only a small part of what YC does. The money we invest works more like financial aid in college: it ensures that the people who do need money can cover their living expenses while YC is happening. "

http://www.ycombinator.com/faq.html

Re: When It Comes To Founding Successful Startups, Old Guys Rule

#39

Post by krschultz »

A large part of the difference is the problem they are solving.

A lot of people tell you to "Scratch an Itch". When you are 40 and have had 15+ years at companies, you have encountered many problems that were entirely unknown to you as at college graduation.

Add in more technical & business experiance, connections, and personal capital and it is not really that surprising when you think about it.

The only thing I see in favor of the young guys is the lower cost of living without a family, and being able to work more hours. If you save and don't tie yourself up in expensive cars and homes, it is just as easy to do at 40 as 20. Maybe easier if you now have a wife or husband with a solid income. The hours difference is not that big of a deal compared to experience. Working smarter is more valuable than working harder.

I don't see why a lot of people on HN are so quick to say that one programmer can be considerably quicker than another with the right tools and talent, yet give no equal respect to the greater abilities of a business experienced founder vs a fresh out of school founder.

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