Somewhere along the line, we all accepted the argument that if you haven’t gotten your tech startup off the ground by the time your 18 years old, your done, over and out, just too old to get it going.
A new study by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation says that is just not so, finding the average age of the founders of technology companies in the United States is a surprisingly high, 39 years of age.
Moreover, the report finds that in every single year from 1996 to 2007, Americans between the ages of 55 and 64 had a higher rate of entrepreneurial activity than those aged 20-34. The 55-64 group averaged a rate of entrepreneurial activity roughly one-third larger than their youngest counterparts.
The Kauffman Firm Survey, based it conclusion on a longitudinal survey of nearly 5,000 companies that began in 2004.
They found that 2/3 of firm founders are between the ages of 35 and 54.3, twice as many are over age 50 as under age 25.4
According to the report, changes in job tenure, support this shift.
“””The length of time at which Americans remain at their jobs has fallen across every age group in the last quartercentury, with the most pronounced declines among that cohort normally associated with career jobs: middle-aged men. Long-term employment, in fact, has fallen dramatically for people ages 35-64 over the past fifty years. While people under age 30 have historically jumped from job to job, the most striking development today has been the deep drop in the incidence of “lifetime” jobs among men over age 50.5
It is important to note that these demographic trends and business formation rates are a one-time occurrence. The time period between 1996 and 2007 happened to see a rebirth of entrepreneurial capitalism in the United States. The continuing recession, moreover, may exert a persistently negative effect on attitudes toward risk-taking. It also is quite likely that the long-term change in job tenure contributed to the high rate of entrepreneurial activity in the 1990s among those over age 45.”
“”A steady increase in life expectancy also means that Americans are not only living longer but also living healthier longer, suggesting that those entrepreneurial 60-year old’s could be 2020’s entrepreneurial 70-year-old’s.””
As one getting up there in years, its great to see that 60 is the new 70, and for us 50 year old’s we are the new 18.
Let me hang on to that one just for a minute.
All kidding aside it is enlightening to see that the next bid thing may come from a 50 or 60 year old and not the kid working out of his dorm room.
Get to work people.
Age is only a number.
It is the wisdom and creativity that one brings to the table that really matters.
However in some cases age does matter, as there are some things in life that one can only learn through experience, or simply by getting older.
If 50 is the new 18, where does that put us 40 somethings. Jail bait? Boy I’d love to end the day with this post.
Alan
Once your in your 40 somethings, your only a few days away from 50, believe me.
So I would take the 18 year old comment and run with it.
Your going to need it soon enough
Mike – Damn you are getting old !!!
But, I will always be older than you.
🙂
Passion is always the driving force in success.
And, passion does not have a time limit or expiration date.
Thanks for sharing this with us Mike. I was another one under the impression most tech startups were from younger folk, however it’s nice to know most of us have many more years to think up something great. I would imagine increased monetary resources (needing no or less external funding), possibly more time (if retired or their children are raised), and certainly more wisdom and life experience must play some role in this.
The fact is that it always lends a seemed sense of credibility, stability, maturity, and wisdom to go into a VC meeting or the like with at least one “Grey Hair” on the team 😉
Hi, very eye opening to see that age has nothing to do with moving your big idea from the white board to a growing enterprise. I work for Network Solutions and as a technology company that helps entrepreneurs with online marketing solutions, we are huge advocates of the entrepreneurial spirit that drives our economy. I just want to add another interesting fact: most of us think that things like Web 2.0, social media etc. are buzz words for Gen Y but you will be surprised how many Gen-Xers are actively using cutting edge online tools to stay ahead of the curve, a key ingredient to becoming a successful entrepreneur. I am Shashi Bellamkonda, they call me the social media swami at Network Solutions (www.growsmartbusiness.com).
Shashi
Nice seeing you here, what is your job at NetSol?