An angel investor noticed that most of his profitable investments came from founders over 40, not young entrepreneurs. Older founders are rarer because they have more to lose: mortgages, families, existing income. But when they do start companies, they tend to succeed.
People talk about entrepreneurship as if it's easy, and so often it's talked about in the context— and this is not criticism, just an observation— of guys and girls in their early 20s who, without any issues at all from a responsibility perspective, can just go and do stuff. When you've got responsibilities, you can just go and do stuff, but you have to be aware that you have those responsibilities and make sure that you're in a position to Really, I suppose, ultimately, not let anybody know.
I mean, that is, that's why when I was in my angel investing journey and realized that the money I was making was nearly always from a company founded by an older, more experienced professional, when I started looking for more people like that, I realized there aren't that many of them. Because quite sensibly, most people realize they've got responsibilities and costs that they have to meet. And it's just the risk for someone who's further into their career is so much higher.
How Marcello Patané Turned An Idea Into Paying Customers in the European Biotech Sector
Why you should interview people who rejected you (as well as your customers).
