Too old to become an entrepreneur?
These last few days, there has been quite a few tweets and blogs about entrepreneur age that are trying to identify the pros and cons of being older when starting a business:
- Jason Crawford’s blog: Click here
- Sarah Lacy’s blog: Click here
I find the subject quite interesting. Indeed I am long past my twenties… I am even closer to my forties than anything else (I am 38..).
So why have I taken the plunge of setting up a web startup? There are several reasons that you may agree with:
- First and foremost I have an idea that has been acknowledged as quite good by many professionals in the industry. Ideas are not the privilege of the younger ones!
- This idea comes from an extensive experience in consultancy. A younger person may not have had enough background to think about it. Funnily enough the young web designers and experts I have interviewed to setup the team were excited by the project but could not relate completely to it due to their lack of working experience.
- My startup being global I will rely on my international business experience to offer a product that is truly universal across the business world. A twenty years old geek has rarely travelled and worked in the UK, US, Asia and most European countries…
- My 15 years IT experience will enable me to execute and deliver by avoiding some of the traps that younger entrepreneurs may fall into. I have not “seen it all” but I have delivered (and sometimes failed) a few international projects during my 15 years as a consultant and IT professional.
- I have a family and a pretty large mortgage. So beyond the dream of delivering this product I have a real motivation to succeed and make this business profitable. I need the money to ensure that I keep on providing what my family needs on a day to day basis. I simply cannot live on French fries and burgers while coach surfing for the next 2 years!
That being said, young people are creative and fearless - that’s a real asset.
But wisdom and experience can also be powerful assets.
Two investors have already acknowledged that my profile and my age were an important part of their decision making process. This prove that you can raise funds even when you’re not the next 22 years old Mark Zuckerberg!
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