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Tech Start-ups Aren't Just for Wunderkinds
jonniee writes "The results of a new report from the Kauffman Foundation are contrary to what we usually hear about U.S. tech start-ups. Who are these entrepreneurs? Is the report in sync with what you're seeing?"
According to the linked article, "Challenging the perception of American technology entrepreneurs as 20-something wunderkinds launching businesses from college dorm rooms," the new study "reveals most U.S.-born technology and engineering company founders are middle-aged, well-educated, and hold degrees from a wide assortment of universities."
I've spent most of my professional career working for startups. Every one of them has been run by middle-aged entrepreneurs, most of them on their third or fourth attempt to run a successful business. I suspect this is because most investors wouldn't actually touch a startup with a ten foot pole, and most young people lack the personal resources to accumulate any startup cash. We hear about startups run college dropout wunderkinds precisely because they are unusual and therefore newsworthy, which is much the same reason we hear about absurd personal liability lawsuits instead of the millions of humdrum cases no one would bat an eyelash at.
Proud member of the Weirdo-American community.
> I think the biggest reason 20-er's succeed is they do not understand the world wants them to fail (so they don't). Older folks are so much more cynical that they don't step out of the comfort zone.
I'm not sure this holds water. There's a perception that young entrepreneurs are successful, but it's basically a myth, perpetuated because of all the attention that a few (rare) successes bring.
The entire focus of the article is that most startups, and I'd be willing to wager most successful companies, aren't started by young people fresh out of college. They're somewhat unsurprisingly started by people with experience in the industry. But "several well-educated 40-somethings go to a bank, get a business loan, rent an office space, and start a new company by filling a niche they know there's a demand for" just doesn't make for as exciting reading as "two college kids in their dorm room risk it all and run up credit card debt pursuing their dreams".
Really it's just the real world turning out to be less romantic, you might say, than the media sometimes makes it out to be. No real surprise there.
"Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."
'Wunderkinds' type founder stories make better story telling than "I started my hosted application business in my garage after putting in my time at the DWP and seeing a need."
Some of the most ridiculous startup fiction that come to mind,
-Michael Dell. Both Mom and Dad Dell had the deeep pockets, knowledge, connections to grow their son's so-called dorm-room start up. Reselling PC's is very capital intensive for those who aren't aware of the business problems.
-Cisco. After the guy who founded cisco stole/borrowed/whatever the IP from the university he worked for, the sexier fiction to cover up the legal gray area and ethical skulduggery was he used was to claim the networking technology was used to talk to his future wife. (or something like that) Meanwhile the guy who -actually- did all the work and seemed to have an ethical bone in his body, retired from the university in relative anonymity.
Along with all of the VC money comes the story tellers to paper over most of ethically challenging details.
http://www.maxineudall.com/2010/02/should-economists-be-sued-for-malpractice.html
Partly I think it's just that if you're the sort of person who is going to have success as an entrepreneur, it's all about drive, vision and creativity. Those don't tend to increase that much with experience.
Kind of like what they say about Mathematicians - if you've not made a big contribution by your 30s, you probably never will.
On the other hand engineering work is very much improved by experience, and many of the best engineers I know are in their 40s or older.
So the newsworthy startups are often started by college kids. But the majority of startups have a decent if not earth shattering premise, backed up by business and engineering skills built up with experience and run by older people.
Das Wunderkind, die Wunderkinder. Lernen Sie Deutsch!