The topic of entrepreneurship is one I’ve written about numerous times in recent years, and especially that of the age of entrepreneurs.  For some time there has been a perception that entrepreneurship is primarily for the young, with the theory being that only those not weighed down by ‘how things are done’ can truly buck the norms and innovate successfully.

Alas, this is often not the case, with various studies in the past few years showing that the most successful entrepreneurs are actually thoroughly middle-aged.  The latest of these comes from a recently published study from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, which reiterated the value of older entrepreneurs.

“Correcting people’s negative stereotypes about older entrepreneurs, and encouraging people at later life stages to engage in entrepreneurship, is important,” the researchers say. “The United States has an increasing population of older adults that have skills and knowledge valuable to society. This study helps to illustrate their strengths.”

Older entrepreneurs

The researchers conducted a meta-analysis of over 100 samples to explore the success rate of businesses launched by founders in their 20s and in their 50s.

The analysis revealed that while younger entrepreneurs can be more adapt at inventing new technologies, older entrepreneurs tend to have greater financial capital and a broader business network to capitalize on their ideas.

What’s more, older entrepreneurs often have higher satisfaction levels, and report greater financial success than their younger peers. The only apparent downside to older entrepreneurship is that it appears to coincide with lower growth rates, but the authors believe this is a natural consequence of the greater size the businesses achieve.

Whereas previous research has suggested the optimal age for starting a business successfully is 42, this analysis suggests instead that our 30s and 40s are a tough time for entrepreneurship as family responsibilities suck up a large proportion of our time, and, of course, entrepreneurs don’t have parental leave or day care opportunities.

“Although it is generally commendable to pursue one’s entrepreneurial aspiration,” the researchers conclude, “we suggest that early mid-life individuals carefully evaluate all of the resources at hand and take a realistic view of this career path before taking the leap.”