I can't speak to "over 50," but I can speak to "over 40." I founded my first software startup in 1995 while I was still an undergraduate. I had the good fortune of timing it so that after a year and a half of toil and obscurity we hit the wave of the dotcom boom, and I was able to establish myself as a proven serial entrepreneur and have been able to found a series of moderately successful tech companies over the years. I'm 42 now, and I'm currently getting a new startup off the ground with three other co-founders who are also in their early forties. We have the good fortune of all having had at least one big success in our careers, but I can attest that our experience has been valuable, and we haven't had a particularly hard time raising money.
I mention this because I think that there are a lot of people between 40 and 50 right now who are the first generation of true digital natives (for example, I have no idea what it was like to work in a pre-email office). Many of us weathered the dotcom boom and bust. From where I'm sitting, this cohort is quite well equipped to found successful tech companies, despite the fact that we tend to have families and children.
I think you and analyst74 make some good points here. It doesn't surprise me at all that VCs are happy to invest in a start-up with founders who have experience like yourself. At your age - that is going to be expected. If you were 42 and spent the last 20 years working in Big Corp - even if you did impressive work - I'm sceptical you'd be on an even-footing with a 25 year old who spent 3 years at Zynga.
If you were 42 and spent the last 20 years working in Big Corp - even if you did impressive work - I'm sceptical you'd be on an even-footing with a 25 year old who spent 3 years at Zynga.
I would disagree with this, depending on the focus. That is, if the person who spent 20 years at "Big Corp" was doing a startup in a related domain to "Big Corp," she would have a large network of contacts, and years of domain experience in the problem-space she's tackling. The person who spent 3 years at Zynga likely only has a brief experience of how to poorly run a company, and few contacts outside of the gaming world.
"If you were 42 and spent the last 20 years working in Big Corp - even if you did impressive work - I'm sceptical you'd be on an even-footing with a 25 year old who spent 3 years at Zynga."
I've worked with more than a few mid-20 somethings that stepped out on their own only to immediately drive their company in to the ground because they a) didn't understand "business" (profit) and b) assumed the 'old people' around them didn't understand the new economy.
This isn't to say that there are not outstanding young business owners out there, but to assume that 20 years of work experience provides no, or little, benefit when it comes to running a start-up is short sighted at best.
I mention this because I think that there are a lot of people between 40 and 50 right now who are the first generation of true digital natives (for example, I have no idea what it was like to work in a pre-email office). Many of us weathered the dotcom boom and bust. From where I'm sitting, this cohort is quite well equipped to found successful tech companies, despite the fact that we tend to have families and children.