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Comment by zpeti | Hacker News Reader

Psychologically this is not true at all. It's much easier to take risks when you have nothing to lose.

How many 18-30 year olds do you see having a swing at it and trying something, vs 30+ people with families and savings to burn?

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Most successful startup founders are in their 30s and 40s.

Providing a link: https://www.kauffman.org/what-we-do/research/2009/04/educati...

That's not actually relevant to what I'm saying.

The more relevant question would be, what % of 20-30 and 30-40 year olds start businesses?

I'm not surprised most become successful over 30, it takes time to learn.

I think everybody in this discussion is working with a different model for the word "risk". This is a problem of concision inherent to a platform like Twitter. I don't think the argument is that 18 year olds are risking less than 30+ year olds with established families. I think the argument is that for young middle/upper class people with social capital, the risk is moving back in with your parents. The conversation stems from the question "are startups riskier for rich kids or not-rich kids?", and not "are startups riskier for 18-30 year olds vs some other demographic?"

My trajectory might not be "normal" but for me I have been more inclined to take risks as I've gotten older.

There is a sense of urgency (e.g. if I don't do it now I won't get another chance) that counteracts the feeling of "nothing to lose")

Having nothing to lose is an advantage, but you also need to consider what the worst case scenario is. That's where the safety net comes in. A lot of people don't have anywhere to go if things truly go south.

You always lose time.

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