PeakPx
Mark Zuckerberg founded Facebook when he was 19 years old. By 25, his company was valued at over $5 billion. At 28, he took Facebook public. Now, at the age of 35, he is among the top 10 richest people in the world.
When we think of entrepreneurs, we tend to think of the Mark Zuckerbergs of the world youthful visionaries who disrupt traditional businesses with a new and better ways of doing things.
New research, however, challenges the view that youth is advantageous to entrepreneurial success. Perhaps a better entrepreneurial archetype is that of Herbert Boyer. Boyer founded Genentech at the age of 40 based on his breakthrough discoveries in genetic engineering. Or, consider the story of David Duffield. Duffield founded Workday, a financial and human capital management software company, in his 60s, after spending a career in application software. Now, Workday has a market capitalization of over $40 billion.
The data is increasingly showing that its never too late to start a business. Below are five research-backed reasons why entrepreneurial success may come quickest to those who wait.
1) The stereotype of the very young and very successful entrepreneur is exactly that a stereotype.
It turns out that the media may be the biggest culprit in perpetuating the belief that entrepreneurship is a young mans game. For example, the website TechCrunch gives annual awards to the most compelling startups, internet and technology innovations of the year. The average age of award recipients from 2008 to 2016 was 31. Inc. magazine and Entrepreneur magazine also publish lists of entrepreneurs to watch. In 2015, the average age of entrepreneurs who made this list was 29. Compare that to the average age of a typical startup founder (42) to see the discrepancy.
2) Not only are older entrepreneurs more common, they are more successful.
42 is the average founder age of all S-corporations, C-corporations, and Partnerships that registered in the United States between 2007 and 2014. Examining the performance of these companies reveals yet another trend: companies with older founders tend to outperform companies with younger founders. Looking at the top 1% of startups (in terms of company performance), the average founder age increases to 43. Looking at the top 0.1%, the founder age increases even more, to 45. Moreover, the average age of startup founders who achieved a successful exit (as defined by an acquisition or an IPO) is 47.
3) Entrepreneurs working in major entrepreneurial hubs are no younger than other entrepreneurs.
Another misconception is that startup founders practicing in the hottest entrepreneurial hubs think Silicon Valley and New York City are younger than in other areas of the country. Again, the data does not show this to be the case. The average age of entrepreneurs in California, Massachusetts, and Silicon Valley is also 42. And, in New York City, the average entrepreneurial age is only one year younger than average (41).
4) The average age of new entrepreneurs entering the market over the past decade has increased.
Given the rise of technology and technology-related entrepreneurship, one might guess that the average entrepreneurial age has fallen in recent decades. Again, the data suggest the opposite. The average founder age has risen from 41.8 in 2007 to 42.5 in 2014.
5) Certain fields attract entrepreneurs that are older than average.
Not surprisingly, there is truth to the idea that technology is a young mans game. However, the age spread is not as wide as one might think. For instance, startup founders operating in the software publishing industry are, on average, 40 years old (two years younger than the overall average). That said, there are other fields that attract older entrepreneurs. For example, the average age of founders in the pipeline transportation of natural gas, basic chemical manufacturing, and paint, coating, and adhesive manufacturing industries are 51, 48, and 48, respectively. Startup founders operating in oil and gas extraction and engine, turbine, and power transmission equipment manufacturing are also significantly older than other types of entrepreneurs.
Conclusion. The novelist George Eliot famously said, Its never too late to be what you might have been. This is sage advice for all aspects of life, but it might be especially relevant in the case of entrepreneurship.
Link:
Five Reasons Why Its Never Too Late To Start A Business - Forbes
- First cow to produce human insulin in its milk created in Brazil - Cosmos - March 18th, 2024
- Engineering the Microbiome: CRISPR Leads the Way - The Scientist - March 18th, 2024
- The de-extinction process to bring woolly mammoths back to life - The Week - March 18th, 2024
- CRISPR gene editing applications are expanding dramatically in agriculture. Here are the latest advances - Genetic Literacy Project - March 18th, 2024
- Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) - National Human Genome Research Institute - March 18th, 2024
- Colossal Genetic Breakthrough Could Be the Key to Reviving Wooly Mammoths - Syfy - March 18th, 2024
- Breaking: Crop gene editing greenlighted by European Parliament. Fight over labeling looms as measure moves to the ... - Genetic Literacy Project - February 10th, 2024
- GMOs on the spotlight in East Africa again - The Citizen - February 10th, 2024
- Blog: Let's Not Ignore the Science in the Fight Against Malaria - chimpreports.com - February 10th, 2024
- Genetic engineering techniques - Wikipedia - January 9th, 2024
- 20.3: Genetic Engineering - Biology LibreTexts - January 9th, 2024
- Genetic Modification Techniques and Applications - Technology Networks - January 9th, 2024
- Transformation-associated recombination (TAR) cloning and its applications - EurekAlert - January 9th, 2024
- Are GMOs Safe? The Benefits of Science-Enhanced Foods | TIME - TIME - January 9th, 2024
- Here's the skinny on fast-emerging genetic engineering tools that are rapidly improving global farming - Genetic Literacy Project - January 9th, 2024
- What Fruit Looked Like 100 Years Ago, Before Genetic Modification - Green Matters - January 9th, 2024
- APHIS Reopens Comment Period on Proposed Additional Exemptions for Plants Modified or Produced Through Genetic Engineering - The National Law Review - January 9th, 2024
- Restriction Enzyme Market is set to Reach US$ 647.41 million at a CAGR of 5.7% from the forecast period 2023 to ... - GlobeNewswire - January 9th, 2024
- Genetic engineering - DNA Modification, Cloning, Gene Splicing - December 13th, 2023
- Star Trek: Julian Bashir's Tale of Genetic Engineering and the Complexity of Parental Acceptance - GameRant - December 13th, 2023
- How to Improve Livestock Health, and Cut - Breakthrough Institute - December 13th, 2023
- Opinion | The Genetically-Engineered Tree That Never Was - Common Dreams - December 13th, 2023
- Genome Editing Market Size and Share to Surpass USD 14.5 billion by 2035 | Roots Analysis - Yahoo Finance - December 13th, 2023
- Dallas-Based Colossal Biosciences Aims to De-Extinct the Woolly Mammoth - The Texan - December 13th, 2023
- Revolutionizing probiotic therapy: The emergence of CRISPR-Cas engineered strains - Medical Xpress - December 13th, 2023
- Genetically engineered cell therapies with mRNA lipid nanoparticles for transferrable platelets - Phys.org - December 13th, 2023
- 'Perhaps GMOs are closer to natural processes than we think': How genetic modification mimics natural evolution of ... - Genetic Literacy Project - December 13th, 2023
- Advancements in Genome Editing and CRISPR-Cas9 Technology - Medriva - December 13th, 2023
- Gene Therapy: Unlocking Innovations in Cancer Treatment, Detection, and Drug Development - Securities.io - December 13th, 2023
- Mayo Clinic Research on Genetically Engineered Virus and CAR-T Cell Therapy for Liver Cancer - Medriva - December 13th, 2023
- Global Gene Editing Market Poised for Significant Growth, Projected to Reach $14.28 Billion by 2027 - EIN News - December 13th, 2023
- Principles of Genetic Engineering - PMC - National Center for ... - May 17th, 2023
- Quitting: A Life Strategy: The Myth of Perseveranceand How the New Science of Giving Up Can Set You Free - Next Big Idea Club Magazine - May 17th, 2023
- 18 Human Genetic Engineering - Clemson University - March 29th, 2023
- Pros and Cons of Genetic Engineering - Benefits and Risks - March 29th, 2023
- How artificial skin is made and its uses, from treating burns to skin cancer - South China Morning Post - March 29th, 2023
- Genetic Engineering - Meaning, Applications, Advantages and Challenges ... - March 13th, 2023
- Revolutionary Specialty Enzymes Transform Industries, Projected to Reach $2.2 Billion by 2031 - Billion-Dollar - EIN News - March 5th, 2023
- Explained: What is genome editing technology and how is it different from GM technology? - The Indian Express - April 2nd, 2022
- Scribe Therapeutics to Participate in Upcoming Goldman Sachs The New Guard: Privates Leading the Disruption in Healthcare Investor Conference - Yahoo... - April 2nd, 2022
- San Antonio Zoo In Discussions on Woolly Mammoth Project - iHeart - April 2nd, 2022
- Xenotransplantation trials will require adjusting expectations, experts say - STAT - April 2nd, 2022
- 5 Interesting Startup Deals You May Have Missed In March: Restoring The Woolly Mammoth, Faux Seafood And Lots Of Bees - Crunchbase News - April 2nd, 2022
- Synlogic to Present Data on Phenylketonuria and Homocystinuria Programs at the Society for ... - KULR-TV - April 2nd, 2022
- The Bay Area food tech industry is creating more than vegan burgers. Heres whats next - San Francisco Chronicle - April 2nd, 2022
- Student Startup Teams to Compete For $110000 Cash Prize Pool in U of A's Heartland Challenge - University of Arkansas Newswire - April 2nd, 2022
- Should we test for differences in allergen content between varieties of crops and animal species? - Open Access Government - April 2nd, 2022
- Genetic Engineering - Courses, Subjects, Eligibility ... - December 22nd, 2021
- Scientists Used CRISPR Gene Editing to Choose the Sex of Mouse Pups - Singularity Hub - December 22nd, 2021
- Report calls for broad public deliberation on releasing gene-edited species in the wild - EurekAlert - December 22nd, 2021
- RNA and DNA Extraction Kit Market Study | Know the Post-Pandemic Scenario of the Industry - BioSpace - December 22nd, 2021
- Opinion: Allow Golden Rice to save lives - pnas.org - December 22nd, 2021
- It's time for an alliance of democracies | TheHill - The Hill - December 22nd, 2021
- Aridis Pharmaceuticals Announces a Pan-Coronavirus Monoclonal Antibody Cocktail That Retains Effectiveness Against the Omicron variant, other COVID-19... - December 22nd, 2021
- 2021: when the link between the climate and biodiversity crises became clear - The Guardian - December 22nd, 2021
- Wuhan lab leak now the most likely cause of Covid pandemic and the truth WILL come out, experts tell MPs... - The US Sun - December 22nd, 2021
- Biotech ETFs That Outperformed Last Week - Yahoo Finance - December 22nd, 2021
- Human genetic enhancement - Wikipedia - October 5th, 2021
- Viewpoint: Part 1 Opposition stirred by anti-GMO advocacy group propaganda fading in the developing world, as more countries embrace crop... - October 5th, 2021
- Amyris Partners with Inscripta to Enhance Development of Sustainable Ingredients Using the Onyx Genome Engineering Platform - WWNY - October 5th, 2021
- Kingdom Supercultures raises $25m to expand Non GMO suite of microbes to unlock new flavors, textures, and functionalities in food & beverage -... - October 5th, 2021
- Fact check: Genetically engineering your salad with the COVID-19 vaccines? We're not there yet. - USA TODAY - October 5th, 2021
- Making the Transition from an Academic to a Biobusiness Entrepreneur - Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News - October 5th, 2021
- Is The New York Times Finally 'Learning To Love GMOS'? - American Council on Science and Health - October 5th, 2021
- Gene editing, joke theft and manifesting - The Week UK - October 5th, 2021
- Opinion: Saving lives through real social justice - Agri-Pulse - October 5th, 2021
- What is biohacking? - News Anyway - October 5th, 2021
- Science, business and the humanities: CP Snow's 'Two Cultures' sixty years on - TheArticle - October 5th, 2021
- Probiotic Yeast Engineered To Produce Beta-Carotene - Technology Networks - April 17th, 2021
- In the US, Imminent Release of Genetically Modified Mosquitoes To Fight Dengue - The Wire Science - April 17th, 2021
- CRISPRoff: A New Addition to the CRISPR Toolbox - Technology Networks - April 17th, 2021
- A Massive New Gene Editing Project Is Out to Crush Alzheimer's - Singularity Hub - April 17th, 2021
- Grammar of the Genome: Reading the Influence of DNA on Disease - Baylor University - April 17th, 2021
- We cannot let China set the standards for 21st century technologies | TheHill - The Hill - April 17th, 2021
- First GMO Mosquitoes to Be Released in the Florida Keys - Singularity Hub - April 17th, 2021
- Novavax to Participate in University of Oxford Com-COV2 Study Comparing Mixed COVID-19 Vaccine Combinations - BioSpace - April 17th, 2021
- AmunBio and NorthShore University to Advance Cancer Immunotherapy with Engineered Oncolytic Viruses - OncoZine - April 17th, 2021
- StrideBio Announces a Multi-technology License and Master SRA with Duke University to Advance Next-generation Gene Therapies - BioSpace - April 17th, 2021
- ThermoGenesis : The History of Cell and Gene Therapy - marketscreener.com - April 17th, 2021
- EU's refusal to permit GMO crops led to millions of tonnes of additional CO2, scientists reveal - Alliance for Science - Alliance for Science - February 14th, 2021