Bias against older people?

6 points by sf2007 19 years ago | 10 comments

lee 19 years ago |

Gee, hope not. It's 4:13 am and I'm just finishing up for the day. I'm 45 and my team is applying. I've worked for a ton of startups and have started a couple of my own. Both my parents had great capacity to outlast their age-peers and function without sleep, so I think there's a genetic aspect to this ability. I don't believe that the ability to stay up late should be the main criterion for choosing worthy startup material. It's a marathon, not a sprint.

staunch 19 years ago | |

I recall reading something (weak I know) about cell regeneration in young people being so much higher that they actually require more sleep.

I'm curious: Do you even require the massive doses of caffeine?

whacked_new 19 years ago | | |

Point about cell regeneration is interesting. Do you recall the age group in question?

sf2007 19 years ago |

I think all my life I've been trying to figure out what I love to do and even though I liked technology, I was never convinced that I loved it. Now I'm 32, but my resume is w/o any startup experience/personal ventures. At the same time, I strongly feel like I want to start a start-up (yes, I'm aware that many fail and that I have to support my wife).

Assuming I come up with a convincing idea/prototype and a co-founder, what are my chances of getting funding from Y Combinator? Will there be a bias against me because:

(negatives) 1. I'm 32 2. My experience is no start-up experience 3. My experience has mostly been in enterprise s/w, which according to PG is not software :)

(positives) 1. Determined 2. Reasonably smart :) 3. Willing to risk my career/lifestyle

I would love to get Y Combinator funding because, it will give me the connections and credibility I need for VC funding.

I know that eventually it depends all on my idea/prototype/team, but I'd love to hear your thoughts. Startup school did nothing but deepened my fear that 30s are not so welcome. At least not the ones who haven't done anything significant in their lives before.

Is it too late guys?

staunch 19 years ago | |

"Is it too late guys?"

That's not a very "founder-y" type question. If you're relying on external approval and motivation you're going to have a hard time shouldering a startup. Fierce determination means not letting anything (including age or "rules") stop you. Joe Kraus is fond of saying: "The beginning of the discussion is when someone says 'no' -- that's where the fun begins."

Why don't you save up, build your startup prototype, get users loving it, and THEN give YC or a VC a call. There's nothing like hard evidence you have a clue to get someone's attention.

I'll be a bit harsh and suggest you might just be searching for an excuse why you can't do it.

By the way: PG and co. were around 30 when they did Viaweb.

BitGeek 19 years ago | |

You shouldn't be asking. Suppose YC had an official "don't trust nobody over 30" policy. Would that stop you?

Build it on the nights and weekends. If you need to keep your day job, do so. If you've never run a business before, start at least a small one. You don't have to go whole hog in a bet the farm type situation... if your wife stays at home, a small home base business might just be the ticket (software or not...) The reason I advise this is a business, any business, will put you thru the business school of hard knocks... and it might be easier to learn those lessons on a venture that has a lower risk of failure rate.

Despite the admonition against single founder businesses, there's nothing to stop you from building something on your own. Don't wait for a co founder to show up (or build the lower risk business while you're waiting.)

I think finding a cofounder is like finding a wife- you can't order one thru the mail.

Your deterimination is a bigger factor than any of the pluses or negative you listed (well, and you can program.)

For what its worth, I'm 38, have been working for startups since 1991, started my first company (and online service that was also a franchise) in 1994, and sold it in 1997. That was my MBA. And for a programmer, dealmaking may seem weird or too "social"... but doing it helps you develop a taste for it, and doing it in any form makes it easier.

So you absolutely, positively should start a business, any business. I think you might be too late for YC this summer, so finish the year with a working prototype of a product... I'm sure that helps in your application for the next round of YC. But if not that, start something.

herdrick 19 years ago | |

Lack of startup experience is completely not a problem.

Being in your 30s is not a problem. Read PG on that subject.

The important thing is: what have you built?

ecuzzillo 19 years ago | |

I doubt it. Most evidence from people of various ages seems to indicate that your all-nighter capacity (a proxy for general age-variant startup capacity) only seriously falls off after late-30's early-40's, not early-30s.

By the way, the light-gray-on-white font in the comment field bugs me.