“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” – C. S. Lewis

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As much as I love this quote, I would change it just a bit to: “It’s never too late to set another goal or to dream a new dream.”

In addition to our age, failure, setbacks, and other perceived inadequacies, can make us think our time has come and gone or may never come at all.  If by “our time”, we mean our opportunity to pursue and perform the work we were born to do, as long as we are alive and functional, it is not too late – and the research proves it!

For this post, let us focus on C.S. Lewis’s direct quote.  As it relates to age, current research proves the importance of experience (aka, age) rather than youth (cutting edge tech savvy), as a strong indicator of entrepreneurial startups:

• According to a Forbes article by Krisztina Holly:
  • Against all stereotypes, we found that the typical successful founder was 40 years old, with at least 6-10 years of industry experience.
  • Twice as many successful entrepreneurs are more than 50 years of age as under 25

• An article by Tom Agan for The New York Times states:
  • Many medical institutions and universities  have shifted to younger workforces.  But according to research by Benjamin Jones of Northwestern University, a 55-year-old and even a 65-year-old have significantly more innovation potential than a 25-year-old.

• Encore.org reports:
  • Approximately 25 million people – one in four Americans ages 44 to 70 – are interested in starting businesses or nonprofit ventures in the next five to 10 years.
  • More than 12 million of these aspiring entrepreneurs are potential encore entrepreneurs who want to make a positive social impact as well as a living.