Apprently some investors even have a mental cut off of 32 – if you are older, they are not interested. And all the big names that come into your mind when thinking about start ups (Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos) all got their break young. Or did they?
Researchers actually looked into this question and found that “the probability of extreme startup success rises with age, at least until the late 50s”. And even Bill, Steve and Jeff might have started young(er) but the market cap of their businesses reached their peak when they were middle aged. Come on, take a guess how old Steve was when the IPhone was introduced (I will tell you at the end of the post)
So where does this leave us? Probably at the unsurprising insight that nobody is immune to biases (or VCs just exploit the fact that younger funders are likely more cash strapped and willing to put up with worse financing conditions) and that there are many paths to success.
Youthful “can do” spirit, being unburdened by legacy and maybe a higher risk tolerance when you do not have a family that depends on you, help you get started but experience (whether built over the years in your own business or as an employee) will increase your odds for success.
➡️ In the end, this research just shows yet again why diversity (not just in terms of gender but also e.g. in terms of age) is so important 😊
Source: https://buff.ly/3Vjdd87
(And by the way, Steve Jobs was 52 when the first IPhone was launched.)
Dr. Eva-Maria Hempe 