Anyone care to share their thoughts?
People starting successful businesses later on in their career doesn't make the news because it is probably more common.
Also, there is no such thing as overnight success despite what these stories may have you believe. When I have read or listened to interviews from entrepreneurs, it is quite common that the "overnight success" was 10 years in the making.
This is from Mixergy's latest interview with Seth Godin:
"I started more than 100 businesses before I had one that really worked. I was three weeks away from bankruptcy for six years in a row. I went window shopping in restaurants. I launched a video tape with fish swimming back and forth for people who couldn’t have an aquarium. I had a business selling light bulbs door-to-door to raise money for marching bands. There’s a really long list of failures."
It really should have no impact on either your performance or your willingness to do something if someone else was this age or that when they did something impressive. IMHO.
If the timing is right and the idea and execution are excellent, it'll be big. If not, it won't. Just go ahead and find out which one it is!
This is absolutely right. It's good to learn from role models, but just take what's helpful and leave the rest. Sure there were people who were younger, smarter, prettier, and smelled better, but as m_eiman said "If the timing is right and the idea and execution are excellent, it'll be big".
It's impossible to compare your situation to anybody else anyway. For example, it's impossible to tell how successful somebody is by the $80,000 car they drive. They may own it outright, they may owe more than the car is worth, you can't tell.
Actually, watch the Mixergy interview with Seth Godin, he specifically talks about being different.
I think Ben Franklin said it well: "At twenty years of age, the will reigns; at thirty, the wit; and at forty, the judgement."
It makes me think of a friend that's been an entrepreneur for 40 years. He carefully planned a new business where he could work 15 hours per week and make very good money. It's like he doesn't waste time doing anything unnecessary.
The question's that matter are internal. Do you still have it in you? The one advantage youth has is energy. Can you work the 7-9 schedule? Can you make it through the 84 hour weeks? Are you passionate enough about your idea to do that?
That's what matters. The rest is just navel gazing imho
We’ve repeated this story so many times that it’s
starting to wear a little thin, but here it goes
again: Basecamp was created wit 10 hours/week of
programming time and as a 3rd or 4th project alongside
paying customers for the designers over the course
of about 6 months.
In other words, we didn’t drop everything we had
to create Basecamp, and you don’t have to either.Deliberately unlearn stuff about tech. Don't let your additional preconceptions slow you down. What was impossible yesterday is commonplace today.
On the other hand, take advantage of the fact that you know more about business, people & life than you did 10 years ago. Those lessons are timeless for a reason (e.g. How to Win Friends & Influence People).
Don't let that discourage you BigTuna. Remember that the media needs an angle, and 'middle-aged' or 'mid-thirties' succeess doesn't have the ring of teens and 20s, or 80s for that matter.
It isn't the age that brought the success (though it may have brought some noteriety). It is more likely the ability to do a few things. 1) look at the world with fresh eyes to discover new opportunities 2) accept the risk of actually doing something with your discoveries. I suspect what is being risked is different for each person.
I'm sure there are more reasons, but those two jumped to mind.
The guy who founded Android (can't recall his name) was as well, but he already had founded some companies.
http://www.kauffman.org/uploadedFiles/ResearchAndPolicy/TheS...