Andrew Yeung (@andruyeung) “YC and dropout culture have convinced us the ideal founder is 22, straight out o” — TopicDigg

YC and dropout culture have convinced us the ideal founder is 22, straight out of school, but the data tells a different story. Some interesting data: - An MIT study of 2.7 million US founders found that the average founder was 47 when starting a company that later exited through an acquisition or IPO. - The same study cited that the founders of the fastest-growing 0.1% of U.S. startups were 45 years old on average when they started their companies. - A 50-year-old founder was approximately twice as likely as a 30-year-old founder to produce an acquisition or IPO. - Founders with at least three years of relevant industry experience were twice as likely to build a top-0.1%-growth company as founders with none. So it seems that experience is one of the strongest advantages a founder can have. Two lessons here: 1. It's never too late to start 2. It might actually be TOO early to start; getting work experience is worth considering