The most successful entrepreneurs aren’t who you might think

The US — and plenty of other countries – have long had an obsession with youth. 

Luxury companies orient their ads toward young people, even though it’s generally older people who can afford to buy their products. 

Young technology entrepreneurs, like Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) founder Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook (NASDAQ: META), are worshipped. But as anyone over 50 knows, older people have the advantage of wisdom. And that can be telling in the business arena.

So it should be no surprise that middle-age people rule the roost in entrepreneurship. “Many observers, and many investors, believe that young people are especially likely to produce the most successful new firms,” four esteemed economists wrote in a 2020 report.

They hail from MIT, Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania and the US Census Bureau. “We study start-ups systematically in the US and find that successful entrepreneurs are middle-aged, not young. The mean age at founding for the fastest-growing 0.1%  of new ventures is 45.” 

That’s as true in the tech sector as in others, and it applies to successful firm exits as well, the report says. “Prior experience in the specific industry predicts much greater rates of entrepreneurial success. These findings strongly reject common hypotheses that emphasize youth as a key trait of successful entrepreneurs.”

Who’s who of middle-aged entrepreneurs

Historical examples of middle-age entrepreneurial success include Sam Walton, whose first Walmart (NYSE: WMT) store opened when he was 44; Ray Kroc, who founded McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) at the age of 52; star designer Vera Wang, who entered the fashion industry at age 40; and Momofuku Ando, who invented instant ramen at 48.

There’s a saying that youth is wasted on the young. But it’s not wasted on the old and middle-aged. That’s because the wisdom gained from their youthful mistakes and successes can inform their actions at a later age. Obviously the older you are, the more knowledge you have gained.

Older people also have generally built up more strong business relationships over the years compared to their youthful brethren. 

In addition, given the healthier lifestyles that many people live compared to years ago, 40 is arguably the new 30. So middle-aged entrepreneurs can have more physical and mental energy than their counterparts of years ago. 

We all know that patience is a virtue, and that’s especially true in the business world. Someone 40-55 is far more likely to have bountiful patience than someone younger.

There are some countries where the aged have been revered, particularly in Asia and Africa. While we don’t know how middle-aged entrepreneurs have performed in those countries, there are good reasons why the older people have been so well respected.

The author is 64.