Maybe you think you’re too old to start your business — especially your own successful business.
If so, you’re wrong: A study conducted by the Census Bureau and two MIT professors found:
- A 50-year-old startup founder is 2.2 times more likely to found a successful startup than a 30-year-old.
- A 50-year-old startup founder is 2.8 times more likely to found a successful startup than a 25-year-old founder.
- A 60-year-old startup founder is 3 times as likely to found a successful startup as a 30-year-old startup founder — and is 1.7 times as likely to found a startup that lands in the top 0.1 percent of all companies.
Case in point: Jerry and Marge Selbee. After running a local convenience store in Evart, Michigan (population 1,900) for 17 years, Jerry and Marge sold the business and retired.
