Most people in the startup ecosystem (and even others) think
that people under 35 are the ones who innovate while people over 45 don’t
really have much to contribute in terms of new ideas. But do people stop being
creative as they reach middle age?…
Well, if you come to think of it, Ben Franklin invented the
lightning rod when he was 44. Henry Ford introduced the Model T when he was 45.
Sam Walton built Walmart in his mid-40s. McDonald’s was built by Ray
Kroc in his early 50s. Even in the field of creativity, Ray Kurzweil
published ‘The Singularity Is Near’ in his 50s, Alfred Hitchcock directed
Vertigo when he was 59, Frank Lloyd Wright built his architectural masterpiece,
Fallingwater, when he was 68. Beethoven created his one of the most popular
works, Symphony No. 9, when he was almost deaf and at the age of 53, just three
years before he died. Need I say more!
However, here in India we have a different issue. There is a
tremendous investor bias against mature founders . VCs prefer startups founded
by young millennials. There could be many reasons for that. Startups require
one to invest long hours and investors may feel that with all those social
obligations and supposedly dwindling health, those over 50 may not be able to
put in that kind of hard work. At the same time, others may feel threatened by
the fact that they cannot manipulate you into signing a term sheet, which
guarantees that while you slog, they’ll reap the benefits.
Whatever their reasons, the fact that can’t be ignored is
that there is a huge bias towards funding startups whose founders have crossed
the 40+ age bracket. But don’t lose hope. If your conviction is strong, nothing
can stop you from achieving your dreams. Remember, even Steve Jobs, known to be
the greatest innovator of recent times, gave shape to his most significant
innovations – iMac, iTunes, iPod, iPhone, and iPad – after he was 45.
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