Age no bar to starting a start-up

by Joseph George, Founder, Sunday Tech and Gen-X Ventures
Do you have a million–dollar business idea that you are convinced will click for you? But, is your ‘Age’ bothering you to take that first nosedive into the pond of business? Today, even if you are in your 30s, 40s, or even 50s and you think that you have missed the bus to start a business and it is too late to even think of it, you are on the wrong side of the thinking path. One should remove this procrastination once for all, at least in this era when the business and technology environment is completely on your side and just conducive. Mind well, some successful entrepreneurs of some glittering unicorns of today didn’t shy away from their ‘age’ when they took a bold decision to float their own start-ups. Many left their lucrative mid-careers half ways to chase their dreams and passions, least to come under the shadow of their ‘age’ while taking the decisions.
 
According to one Study conducted by the United States Census Bureau and two professors from MIT, the most successful entrepreneurs happened to be middle-aged; even in the tech sector. Their research showed that the average age of the start-up founder was 45 years when he or she founded the most successful tech companies. In general terms, a 50-year-old entrepreneur is almost twice as likely to start an extremely successful company as a 30-year-old, revealed their study. Their Study also highlighted some interesting facts:
 
•         A 50-year-old start-up founder is 2.2 times more likely to find a successful start-up as a 30-year-old.
 
•         A 40-year-old start-up founder is 2.1 times more likely to find a successful start-up as a 25-year-old.
 
•         A 50-year-old start-up founder is 2.8 times more likely to find a successful start-up as a 25-year-old founder.
 
This statistics will further convince and mould your minds to start one:
 
•         A 60-year-old start-up founder is three times as likely to find a successful start-up as a 30-year-old start-up founder and is 1.7 times as likely to found a start-up that winds up in the top 0.1 percent of all companies.
 
Isn’t it inspiring?
 
While there could be several reasons not to take timely decisions when the time was ripe, but its better late than never. Once one conquers the ‘age’ factor to prevail over his dreams as a hurdle, other key differentiators remain to tackle are: Belief in own ‘ideas’ and the power of ‘execution’ of such ideas. If one minutely observes the success stories of successful start-ups, the ‘power of execution’ was the game changer and was always at the core. The idea of an ‘Amazon’ or an ‘Uber’ or that of a ‘Zomato’ apparently looks promising; yet simple, but it is the power of execution that made each one of them big. The strategy is important, but what matters are tactics that fuel up the Companies grow.  
 
Another worry for many ‘would-be’ entrepreneurs is the fear of having ‘limited experience’. Be it about developing a strong business strategy, a viable business model or taking swift and tactical decisions, the ‘limited experience’ syndrome hounds many. But there is no reason to worry much about it. If one grasps the principle of ‘value re-engineering’, he would understand that the best way to enhance the boundaries of experience is just by knowing what one doesn’t know and increasing the grasp of the things that one knows well. This basic principle will keep one moving!
 
A simple act of looking into the mirror and asking a basic question would solve half of the mind-borne dilemma: “If others have succeeded, will I?” Then answer yourself by saying, “Yes, I must.” As an extension to this thought process, the next simple formula could be: DISC - Drive, Idea, Skill and Creativity. Just have the DISC in right place and start rolling. Be you are in your 40s and you want to start a business, do it. If you're in your 50s, do it. If you're in your 60s; just don’t wait and do it! As said earlier, it is about the self-belief, willingness to work hard and persevere. And not forget, there are collaborative efforts possible, if you co-find your idea with your best business partner or seek the help of right people from the outer eco-system, particularly available for Gen – X entrepreneurs.
 
More than Science, it is an art to combine your experience, talent and relationships to work for yourself, for your own good, progress and growth. And mostly to work against your age, for the day to come when you may say: Oh, I beat my Age!