On the other hand, most friendships die out when people reach their late 20s (career, moving elsewhere, kids, marriage) so it might have been inevitable even if you didnt do a startup.
You are being unreal, but I'd go with the startup anyway.
School will always be there, and your experience won't be that different based on age. I had friends up to about age 26 when I was in college, and I've known people that did it all throughout their 20s. The chance to found a startup with people you really respect doesn't arise all that often, though. Take advantage of it and see where it leads you, and if it doesn't work out, then you can go back to school.
"It probably means the founder couldn’t talk any of his friends"
PG also has an age bias in that statement as it would practically be true only for a certain age group (young, in or recently out of college, without kids) anyway.
Someone who is, say, 33 years old, married with two kids and with friends who are in a similar situation (and assuming those friends even live in the same town at the time) would find it quite difficult to pull those people from their possibly established careers (say as an attorney, doctor, or rising manager) to leave on a "startup". Additionally not everybody has a large group of friends who share the same goals and interests. Obviously.
It's all about commitment folks, simple as that. People over 30 and under 20 tend to have commitments that might get in the way of their startuping. My cofounder was 31, fwiw.
Really great question, Daniel. I can see where it might often be the case that someone 50+ might not know people able to devote startup-level time to a new project. I've done solo deals from time to time, but having great partners is infinitely more fun, and that's what I'm doing again this time. In my case it wasn't hard. I tend to hang out with people similarly energized by startups, and did a decent job staying in touch after my last company. My last company had a good outcome (IPO) so I'm fortunate to have a fair rolodex of people I've worked with who wouldn't mind doing so again, some of whom are my age, and some are quite a bit younger.
I was heavily involved in the startup scene all through my 20s, now in my 30s and still loving it. Turns out you can both be involved in tech and startups in your 20s and have it be the best time in your life. Everyone has different interests in life and we all have our own paths. I agree, enjoy your 20s, but you don't have to avoid tech, startups or hard work in order to accomplish that. Some of my favorite memories from my 20s are in the office late at night with my co-workers/life long friends trying to change the world. I'm still very close with many of those people and it doesn't feel like any of that time was wasted.
I don't think that starting late would have been your issue. Most people tend to avoid risks, and like to live easier life any given day.
I am 26, and I asked my friends to join my startup when I was 25, still no one seems to want to take that risk.
Also, location might be a big factor. Here in Dallas, Texas, not many people want to jump into startups straight away.
In my case, the problem was also not so well defined, and there's not too many people working on this. Except some BIG corps.
I am also doing everything myself, until this point at least. i do have a co founder, but he is a busy man (Department head of CS form my university.)
I am also doing everything alone, that too on the side (I had to start doing a job some 6 months after starting my startup, due to financial and immigrations issues).
So, here I am , a 26 year old, immigrant startup founder, who doesn't know how to get more people (or if I want more people).
I am getting to know and learn a lot more, and I am doing it very cheap. So successful or not, personally I think I will gain a lot.
My question really was due to the fact that I might be failing soon enough, and more and more I see my friends and they all SEEM to be enjoying more and relaxing more doign their regular jobs.
So, I am more afraid I might not be able to do more later on, and do any more startups if this one fails.
Somewhere in my head, at least I know one person who did it in his 40s. Gives me some level of confidence that it's not too late.
Also, hearing all these stats about younger guys doing it and succeeding, Zuck and the likes, doesn't boost confidence either. Quite few times, I end up thinking, maybe this is it, after I am old, I might not be able to do it, since not so many people seem to be doing successful statups, or at least we don't hear about them much.
I have lots of 25-year-old friends who would like to start a startup but decided against it. I'm trying to convince at least one of them to reconsider, since my cofounder quit yesterday and that leaves me a single founder. Their reasons are pretty varied, but include:
1.) One has Marfan's syndrome and needs to work at a place with guaranteed health insurance to cover his medical bills.
2.) Two would like to start a startup in the future, but feel that they don't currently have enough experience. This was also my reason for not founding a startup straight out of college.
3.) One was always interested in startups, but his family background has steered him towards law school, and so he doesn't have the technical skills to start a tech startup.
4.) One has a wife and two stepkids to support.
5.) One (my former cofounder) wants to start a startup, but got into Harvard Business School and figures a bird in the hand is worth 10 in the bush.
6.) One likes working for small companies, but enjoys his work-life balance too much to take the plunge and actually start one himself. He also doesn't desire the financial rewards that come from a successful startup all that much.
7.) One couldn't do it because he's on a student visa and it was doubtful that the visa would let him co-found a company.
They're all good reasons, and you can see that they're a lot more varied than them all being caged animals.
I'm the same age but single, and I applied to LaL but realized that I just don't have the energy anymore to sustain the pace they want. I could've done it at 19, I probably could even have done it at 24, but now that I'm 29, I just can't code for 14 hours a day, let alone 20. (Actually, that's not entirely true - I've pulled 14 hour days for 4-5 day stretches working on a Google doodle or coming up to a launch, but I need like 2 weeks of recovery time afterwards.) Alas, I wasted my twenties on college and 3 failed startups.
It's certainly possible to start a company in your 30s - PG did it, founding ViaWeb at 31 and selling it at 34 - but it does seem like a bit of an uncanny valley without many founders. My theory is that people who are the type of person that's going to found a startup probably would've founded it by 26, and then if their first couple attempts failed, they're licking their wounds at 30 and trying to figure out how to give it another go.
Those same people often end up starting follow-up ventures much later, after the kids are self-sufficient. I have one friend from elementary school whose dad is working on his second startup at the age of 70. His first venture - founded at around age 60 - ended up IPOing at a market cap of several billion before crashing and burning.
I'm in a similar boat. I'm 31, married, with no kids so far. I quit my job to pursue a startup. It's good timing for me.
To be a successful founder, I don't think that it makes a lot of difference how old you are, but it does make a significant different where you are in life. I think this manifests itself most if you're trying to find a co-founder.
Most founders in their early 20s have very little in the way of assets or obligations to speak of. This makes finding a compatible co-founder in the same age group much easier. Everyone starts out in a similar situation.
On the other hand, founders in their 30s have had a lot more time to complicate their situation (for better or worse): kids, marriage, mortgage, and money. Finding a co-founder is more difficult, since accommodating both potential founders can be more difficult. There's more to accommodate.
In my social circles, there tend to be more complicated situations than simple ones.
Yes; we've had several people in their 30s. We get a lot of people in their early 20s, but that's probably just because more of them are starting startups.
I observed an incubator program where there was an early-20s founder who was very fratty, taking shots in the office with his team to celebrate releases and stuff like that. That team all lived together. As founders age into their late 20s, they seem to become less enamored of that lifestyle.
Does your startup account for age/interests/education of its participants? I can't imagine a 21-year old Marketing Intern and retired 70 year old would form strong bonds.
I think it's the other way round. Someone who is 20 can expect to still be single and energetic when they are 27 or even 29.
If you are 31, then you are looking at doing a startup when you are 40+. Who knows if you will have the energy, not be tied down by family, or even still have relevant skills.
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