Middle-aged entrepreneurs are more successful than young ones

Previous discussion: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=16794228" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=16794228</a>.

I have very very little doubt that the sum of the total revenue of all companies started by middle-aged entrepreneurs divided by the number of them (the average) is greater than the average revenue from companies started by young people. What I&#x27;m curious about is whether or not young people tend to create <i>revolutionary</i> companies with more frequency than older people, especially if you ignore factors that sort of make the game an &quot;unfair&quot; comparison, like older entrepreneurs having better access to capital (e.g. self funded) or all the things a network can help you with.

Are <i>first-time</i> middle-aged entrepreneurs more successful than young ones?

I hated hearing this when I was 20. It&#x27;s got some truth to it.<p>CEO&#x2F;Startup&#x2F;Business skills come with time, at 20 I just wanted to build, like a beast.<p>Transferable business skills though, came from creating and transacting value with others, be it through a career to learn how a business works, freelancing, contracting, consulting, etc.<p>I tried to spend 10 years leveling up to get 20 years of experience. Experience in remaining learning open-minded, learning to focus on the right things, and being effective does seem to set one up differently to add and create value.<p>The kool-aid machine, however seems to want to take away a person&#x27;s 20&#x27;s for much less. Investors who value genuine founder development as much as the product development are extremely valuable.

Experienced business owners are more successful than inexperienced ones.<p>That&#x27;s not <i>too</i> surprising.

Depends on who you&#x27;re selling to.<p>If you&#x27;re selling to young people, and you&#x27;re old, it helps if you&#x27;re in advertising or producing pop culture or otherwise connected to the zeitgeist.<p>If you&#x27;re selling to businesses, experience and contacts in the industry vertical are huge.

I&#x27;m curious to see if the number of companies a person starts has any notable impact. Older entrepreneurs in theory have had multiple endeavors, and failed multiple times, so they either get lucky, or learn from their mistakes.

Obvious headline is obvious.

&quot;Entrepreneurs with experience, money and connections are more successful than those who aren&#x27;t.&quot;

Experience? :)

Less time for mess ups - more awareness of what you are getting into.<p>I would wager far less middle aged people try a business though.

Yet another example of people being confused by statistics. This story has been written and posted on HN a hundred times. It&#x27;s always a failure to distinguish which type of business is being discussed.<p>The data for innovative technology startups is going to be very different from almost everything else. Comparing the businesses that Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg started to consulting companies or restaurants makes absolutely no sense.