Age is just a (silly) number
Read Time: 3.5 minutes
I have to kick off by saying that the early love for GROW has been absolutely incredible! So many world class entrepreneurs are speaking up.
"Mike is an exceptional entrepreneur and mentor. Anyone building a business will benefit from reading his book GROW."
~Arlene Dickinson - Dragon on Dragons Den, Entrepreneur and 3 x Best Selling Author
GROW starts shipping globally on March 29th.
There is still time to grab your copy and some of the incredible free bonuses while they’re available:
Pre-order now and claim your free bonus here
Now, let’s jump into this week’s newsletter.
Age is just a (silly) number
Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg were 19, and Steve Jobs 20, when they launched what would become world-changing companies.
Do these famous cases reflect a generalizable pattern? The media thinks so. When researchers analyzed founders who have won TechCrunch awards over the last decade, the average age at the time of founding was just 31, and those selected by Inc. magazine in 2015 averaged out at 29.
Stories like these are behind the widespread belief that the most successful entrepreneurs are young. And sure, that can be the case. There are people who become successful early. They might be prodigies with ground-breaking ideas, but it’s just as likely that they’re uniquely (and sometimes outrageously) well-funded. Think about what else is the same among Gates, Zuckerberg, and Jobs for a moment. They’re male. They’re not people of color. They got into great academic programs. Even if they didn’t finish, it means that they had enough either intellectual privilege, wealth privilege, or both, to get started.
But the thing is, Gates, Zuckerberg, and Jobs actually aren’t the norm for entrepreneurial success.
Recent research says that the average age of a successful start-up founder is actually 45.
Why might that be the case?
Let’s think about this. While younger people might have more energy and determination, people who’ve hit 45 have a few amazing tricks up their sleeves.
They’ve got experience.
People who start up successful businesses need to fill a gap in the marketplace. If they know their industry really well, then they’ve probably either a) done a lot of research; b) have run the gamut of opportunities to narrow down the possibilities; or c) tried out something innovative that met a new customer need.
They’ve got resilience.
Someone older has probably tried and failed a few times as an entrepreneur, and they know what’s going to work. Most entrepreneurs do fail their first times round the block. That’s not only okay, it’s a great way to understand what really works.
They know what their skills are, and where they need help.
Older entrepreneurs likely have more self-awareness than their younger selves. They’re going to seek out better partners and investors, namely those people who have the skills that they know they lack and who will complement their strategic aims.
No matter what age you’re at, you’ve got to feel good about taking an entrepreneurial path.
You can be successful at a young age or an older one. In my case, sure, I started young but my real success felt like it came ten years down the line. I didn’t have a Harvard offer like Zuckerberg or family money like Gates. I did ask a lot of questions, like Jobs, but I didn’t sit next to a friend of Steve Wozniak’s in high school. I had to build the capacity to become an entrepreneur over time.
Media companies like TechCrunch and Inc. are trying to put innovative, upstart, and even weird businesses on pedestals because they drive clickbait. That’s their entrepreneurial aim. Are these businesses going to be successful over the long term? Who knows. Maybe! Maybe not. But these businesses weren’t, and aren’t, successful simply because they were started by young people.
What does matter if you want to be a successful start-up founder?
Build your experience. Build your resilience. Build your skills. Know your community and who you can rely on, everyday. Mostly importantly, have patience.
All of us go through times in our lives when we judge ourselves for not getting ahead faster or earlier in life. When we follow our instincts, stay on our path, and follow through on our word, there is no faster way forward. As an entrepreneur, we have to discover and build trust in ourselves so that we become capable and comfortable with everything that the world is offering us.
It’s not your job to get to the finish line before anyone else.
It is your job to know your own worth in every moment of your life.
I hope you enjoyed the read and know that you’re right where you’re supposed to be.
Until next time.
Let’s Grow!
Here are 4 other ways I can help you grow:
Get my new book GROW: 12 Unconventional Lessons for Becoming an Unstoppable Entrepreneur
Work with me 1:1 to grow your business.
Listen to my Founder to Mentor podcast. (new episodes weekly)
Get my free mentorship growth tools at www.fatafleishman.org.
Connect with me
