Headline is a bit misleading.

By 40 he had already significant experience in the industry, as a menswear buyer for a department store and through his 30s a menswear designer, both employed and freelance. Then he (the creative) and his partner (the business guy) created a startup leading to where he is today.

This isn't too unusual a story in the world of startups (not to minimize the achievement of his or any self-sacrificing startup), and doesn't reflect the title's premise at all.