The notion of the teenage and twenty-something technology entrepreneur looms large. In reality, the most successful companies are more commonly founded by people in their 30s or older.
The profile of a prosperous tech founder in many people’s minds is distorted by some big outliers. Steve Jobs was 21 when he co-founded Apple. Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg were 19 when they dropped out of Harvard University to start their companies. Often overlooked is that Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, the two richest men in tech, were in their 30s when they created their most successful businesses.
Yet, the myth around youth has persisted. So Tamaseb took a narrower view of success that reflects the business world’s obsession with unicorn startups and examined several factors, including age. His pool is limited to about 200 companies. While that group of founders skews a decade younger than the average from the earlier study, it shows the top entrepreneurs often draw on experience formed earlier in their careers.