I saw an article the other day that headlined "Yes, you can do your startup when you are 45!" and it made me smile. I'd never even contemplated that it might not! But it seems that some people really do think that this stuff is just for the "youth of today". A game reserved for the so called millennials (and even younger) as a right of passage, an almost expected part of natural progression from seeds sown by celebs around the world - some of whom have gone on to be President!
So, I am 43, involved with lots of startups and have been running my own businesses since the age of 26. Don't feel like stopping, but do very much recognise that the challenges I face now in terms of balancing my passion for entrepreneurship with the other priorities, challenges and joys in my life are very different to when I first started.
Back at the age of 26 I was able to devote significant hours across every day to my ideas and to furthering the business. Whatever it needed, whatever it took 80, 90, 100+ hours per week I found a way to make it happen. And despite how tired I became at times, there was aways some resilience there. Travel too was a big part of it, and a lot of this took place in anti social times. There were casualties along the way to health, friendships and even relationships but the businesses kept surviving and growing (despite the many setbacks that arose).
My attitude to risk was also different. There's always a high likelihood of failure in being an entrepreneur but at 26 I was not even remotely afraid of the potential impact. Give back the keys on an apartment - absolutely! Find a job - easy! Declare bankruptcy - messy, but always a contingency option!
Interestingly back then I was quite creative in solving problems, and built a lot of solutions from first principles without the need of guidance, education or reading. My inexperience when it became a limiting factor brought me to mentors and others around me for help or occasionally I just got got plain stuck or didn't listen.
Sometimes I felt pretty uncomfortable asking 'ignorant' questions, but if something stood between me and success I felt compelled to find a way round it. When I didn't do that, there were often consequences I didn't enjoy, and that feeling was worse than the potential embarrassment of asking the question.
Now, I have a lot more experience, and can solve the 'familiar problems' that come up time and time again quite efficiently. There are 'battle scars' on my back, IP in my kit bag and things I can reuse to handle matters that arise. But these themselves can occasionally be limiters to creativity, because I have to think through and then past them rather than just seeing the problem for what it is and addressing it uniquely in that situation.
Emotionally through these journeys I believe I'm a lot more stable and less stressed by the environment, partly because of the reassurance I have from completing the full embryo to exit of a number of entities. There is always an awareness of potential failure though, which burns and gnaws at times.
A big change since my twenties and early 30s is that I now have my own beautiful family, and there is time they need and time/experiences I want to share with them. Meeting the ebbs and flows of startup survival while also being part of family routines, disrupted sleep patterns, unpredictable cash flows, long planned vacations and above all being present is not particularly easy and I can't say I am the best at it. I'm also not the best at saying 'No' to things, particularly when its bringing something new to the world. This is an area I am consciously working on.
Despite all the reason, reading, feedback and logic to the contrary I instinctively blink when I see a business need and survival issues. I'm also notoriously bad at being consistent and proactive when things go well for long periods of time. It's not complacency, I just don't find it as much fun when times are easy and something in me switches off until an emergency arises! That vibe of new businesses in their first 18 to 24 months seems to be central to my DNA.
So how will it look 10 years from now, or even 20. Will I still have the desire or energy to drive a new business? Well I cant say for sure, but I've certainly met many people in their 50s and 60s who have that kind of hootzspa and I really hope I end up being one of those. Will I look back and know for sure if the 'juice was worth the squeeze' with the compromises and adjustments I asked of myself or others?
One thing is certain in my mind though - I don't believe that being an entrepreneur is for any one single demographic in terms of age, gender, education, background or orientation but that put simply some people are made for it and some people aren't. The reasons for their success, or otherwise, will sometimes have common factors but often no two stories are the same. No two paths to success are similar enough to truly find a cohorent common denominator.
I've met and shared time with entrepreneurs & Innovators on five continents, in multiple sectors and who have been driving businesses at various stages. It's been a wondrous experience to meet amazing people of all walks of life who have inspired me and amazed me with what they have endured, achieved and survived in their quests. Some of them I was able to help. Some helped me and others achieved heights I will never find.
Amongst it all the most common thread I have identified is that they were endowed with the will to make things succeed. That when their will was stronger than all the dissent around them the business found its own way to survive and flourish. Regardless of their unique stories and everything going on around them there was always a point where you could see that quality in their eyes.
If you haven't got that in your DNA, it really doesn't matter how many years you have (or haven't) been on the planet. You're just better off doing something else. As for the author of the article that first got me started on this post - perhaps you and I should have a drink some time and chat about this stuff :)
S.
