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toughest part is dealing with sig. other who'd really like to have a nice meal every once in awhile and wonders aloud when she learns of your friends/peers who make six figures in "real jobs"... "Maybe you should go to law school?" <-- have you heard that one? cringe

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been lucky, didn't hear it much!

my girlfriend has been very supportive. the only thing she asked, is that we still continue to travel/backpack, at least once a year - which I of course "granted" her (while she's granting me with the rent .... :)

maybe that's another reason that the mean age for founders is quite low. I mean if you're older and have dependents it's not the best time to throw your salary out the window and go it alone.

The mean age for founders in the US is 39:

http://blog.checkadvantage.com/2011/02/09/baby-boomers-job-m...

Not for the type of start-up we talk about on HN.

Why, is the risk somehow greater ?

We mostly talk about internet software start-ups. Founders can be succesful with only coding experience and little capital, while most other industries require a roster of contacts, experience, capital and etc. Not that these don't help online software start-ups, but they are not as important.

I think the mean age for YC founders is ~26 from what I gather.

That's because I don't think older entrepreneur usually would go for a YC like program. A lot of them have worked long enough to have savings to bootstrap and connections. At least that's my hypothesis.

That may be so. I see the real value of YC as being mentorship from the team and the connections that follow rather than just funding and a stamp of approval for connections. Then again I haven't been in the business as long as most older entrepreneurs so I'll withhold judgement.

There's a value there for sure, but for folks like me (30's, savings, used to a large salary, own a home, married, etc...) relocating and everything else required may not be worth the trade off.

This is my big interest in YC and why I'll try applying this Winter--There are plenty of resources for doing all of this yourself, and many people have but given my background and experience I have, I probably can't get my idea off the ground without proper guidance and I think many people are like me who genuinely need that little bit of help more than they need large sums of money, a stamp of approval or what have you--that guidance will carry you to all of that stuff in the end.

There are two factors that can allow you to throw your salary out the window. Being young and having no expenses/obligations and being a bit older and having some accumulated wealth.

But I think you're right. MOST younger folks have no obligations. Relatively few older folks have actually managed to keep their burn rate low and accumulate wealth.

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