Tag: when to start a business

You’re Never Too Old to Start a Business, Even If That Business Is Winning $26 Million in the Lottery | Inc.com

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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.

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How Old Is Too Old to Start a Business? The Answer May Surprise You. Infographic | Entrepreneur

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Yes, Mark Zuckerberg started Facebook at 19. But Charles Flint launched IBM at 61.

While Hollywood may love the story of the college kid who starts a billion-dollar business out of his dorm room, that’s only one story. For many, life as an entrepreneur begins much later.

Consider: Legendary wedding-dress designer Vera Wang didn’t start designing clothes until she was 39. Home decorating goddess and business czar Martha Stewart didn’t get into home decorating until she was 35. And San Francisco-based angel investor and founder of business incubator 500 Startups Dave McClure didn’t invest in a single startup until he was 40. That’s all according to a pair of infographics, embedded below, created by startup organization Funders and Founders.

When it comes to launching a business, what a person may lack in youthful energy comes back multiplied in experience. Reid Hoffman started the ultra-popular career networking site LinkedIn when he was 36; Sam Walton started Wal-Mart when he was 44; and Joseph Campbell started Campbell Soup when he was 52.

Have a look at the two infographics below. Be inspired. And stop counting the grey hairs on your head.

See Infographic.