Act Upon Your Ideas At the Age of 40 and Up

Many people wonder whether starting a new entrepreneurial adventure after the age of 40 can be a good idea. They look around and get stalled by the amount of young individuals trying to find their place under the business sun. And the popular thinking that older entrepreneurs have lower chances for successful startups stops lots of innovative ideas from coming to life. On top of that, middle-aged people believe that the younger generation is much more trained in technology, modern business trends, product marketing, and so on.

If all of the above sounds familiar to you, then we suggest you forget it. And here is why.

Science supports you

A study by the Census Bureau and MIT professors proved that the most successful startup businesses were launched when the founder was around 45 years old. Interestingly, a 40-year-old entrepreneur is 2.1 times more likely to start a successful business than a 25-year-old.

“Among those who have started a firm, older entrepreneurs have a substantially higher success rate. Our evidence points to entrepreneurial performance rising sharply with age before cresting in the late fifties. If you were faced with two entrepreneurs and knew nothing about them besides their age, you would do better, on average, betting on the older one,” the study says.

KFC founder Col. Harland Sanders is a great example of that. According to his biography, he became a professional chef by the age of 40. Only by 62 he franchised Kentucky Fried Chicken and at 75 he became a pop-culture icon. Now the KFC brand value is at over 5.5 billion U.S. dollars. 

Experience backs you up

It is obvious why older people have better odds at successful startups – they have much more life experience in general. They’ve got knowledge and wisdom from their work, social interactions, and personal life. They mastered their soft skills well enough compared to even a 29-year-old. These skills play a significant role in business management, idea development, product marketing, etc.

During the first 40 years of our lives we also acquire the most valuable assets – family, friends, professional connections and monetary resources. All of them are significant and necessary for creating a business.

For example, a fashion designer Vera Wang began her journey to success in the bridal industry when she was about 40 years old. But previously she worked for Vogue as a fashion editor. There she had the opportunity to strike up numerous acquaintances and experience in the fashion field. Later she started designing accessories for Ralph Lauren and eventually founded her own Vera Wang Brand. “Don’t be afraid to take time to learn. It’s good to work for other people. I worked for others for 20 years. They paid me to learn,” she says.

Time is on your side