Forget the Youthful Entrepreneur Stereotype

I've UNDERTAKEN MANY businesses in my life. In college, I sold calf-nursing bottles full of booze at football games.

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In my 20s, I launched a boutique hotel company, Joie de Vivre, and in my late 50s, I started the first midlife wisdom school, the Modern Elder Academy. Along the way, I've mentored the young founders of Airbnb as their "modern elder" and advised entrepreneurs aged 20 to 80.

Because of this, I can confidently say that you can be a successful entrepreneur at any age. But let's just say that some ages may be better than others.

Sure, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg started their respective companies at 19, 21, and 19. But in 2021, close to 60 percent of U.S. small business founders were over 50. A 50-year-old is almost twice as likely to start a successful company as a 30-year-old, and the average age of a successful startup founder is 45.

So, for those of you pondering a midlife career change, the odds are in your favor. But if you're still in doubt, here are three reasons older leaders are particularly well-suited for entrepreneurship.

1  An instinct for opportunity.

Successful entrepreneurs have to be first-class noticers of opportunities.