No.
"... At 38, am I too old for a startup? No ..."
So is there any logic behind this or just a quick response?
At 38, am I too old for a startup?
51–60 of 91 posts
Re: At 38, am I too old for a startup?
#52If you ask (really) seriously, then yes.
But if you only need some drive: the only part of us which really goes down every year is our body; all other things are able to increase, if you continue to train them.
Re: At 38, am I too old for a startup?
#53It's not your age that counts, but your level of PASSION (and the target market), as some wise man once said, "There's no OFF switch on a successful entrepreneur". Col. Sanders was in his seventies when he started KFC. But ... it really depends on your level of debt and risk aversion. And of course, if you have a significant other then he/she must share your passion otherwise you'll either drop out or your significant other with be very EX! Starting a business will not get you out of debt quickly (if ever) but further into debt until you start making more than you spend.
Re: At 38, am I too old for a startup?
#54Speaking as a 36-year old in the throes of testing his app I bloody hope not! If you're sufficiently clear of responsibilities that you can do this, well, you'll always regret it if you don't.
I guess the reasons PG and co recommend youung-uns are mainly:
1) Energy (physical, I guess) 2) No serious financial obligations 3) No family obligations.
I think #2 is probably the biggest. However, if you are older and have no debt/mortgage, plenty of everything, they why not. #3 you can't do anything about really, but as long as you don't mess with #2, the #3's in your house won't be too upset.
Also having kids teaches you to sleep efficiently and economically (you sleep when you can).
I find it fascinating to watch startups, I think its an awesome thing to do.
Re: At 38, am I too old for a startup?
#55Earlier quoted context omitted.
While I agree that experience can be a benefit in many industries (and I'm 33, have been working around my current industry for about 10 years, and I think that's been a big benefit to my current startup), I also think naivety can be a far more powerful defense than your comment would indicate. Not knowing about the old boy networks and the "way things are done" can be a benefit to a small and nimble startup. The fac…
I wonder if older founders could hack that problem by starting up in an area outside their expertise.
Very likely. I've also noticed that whenever you put a hacker into just about any non-technical field, they can very quickly spot dozens of areas of inefficiency that could be resolved with a little technology.
Often, the problems aren't even hard. Barcodes added to all forms being filed by customers, or added to "things" in the warehouse, or organized in a database rather than on the shelf (like Zappos does), etc. And a lot of non-technical industries make a lot of money...saving a few dozen companies a few dozen million each year via automation is a recipe for a beautiful lifestyle business.
I did IT work for a guy in Austin that served court papers...a totally low-tech industry. Individual guys (and a few rugged gals) drive out to peoples houses and personally deliver divorce court summons, etc. The guy I worked for began automating his company in the late 80's or early 90's, several years before anyone else, and by the time I stopped working for him, I believe he had the largest process service company in Texas (and, probably the nation, since Texas is mighty big), though all are privately held, so it's hard to say for sure who was "biggest", but he covered nearly the whole state and almost everyone else only covered one or two cities, and had several million in revenue from ~30 or so employees and ~100 independent field agents. Anyway, there was tons of low-hanging fruit in this industry because it had never been automated before. And because he had lots of process servers on his payroll and many lawyers/legislators that he worked with on a regular basis, he got to shape policy with regards to how it all worked. The state opened up electronic filings with many of its legal papers around 2005, which gave him an even bigger leg up on the competition, because all of his data was already going into a database.
I'm just saying that technical people might be well-served by looking at currently non-technical industries for their golden goose. There are plenty of industries still to be saved from tedium by making computers do more of the work.
Re: At 38, am I too old for a startup?
#56Re: At 38, am I too old for a startup?
#57The average age of a startup founder in the U.S. is 35.
Re: At 38, am I too old for a startup?
#58Re: At 38, am I too old for a startup?
#59I'm currently exploring a "What If" idea.
I'm designing my first web site.
I can only do it during nights and weekends.
I'm happy.
I'm 35.
I will never quit.
Re: At 38, am I too old for a startup?
#60I don’t think age is a factor for starting a company. I think age is a state of mind. . Anyway, if you have the passion for the idea, nothing can stop you from achieving what u want. It is this passion that has been driving some of the great folks in the industry