What do you do if age-related biases hinder your late-career entrepreneurship?

I always push my founders who feel “late” or “old” that the average age of a successful founder is 45+ :) you cannot go back in time, all you can do is use your past experience to build a great business and guide you.

Entreprenuership is all about being dynamic and updated with not just the industry trends but trends of the world generally. By that logic, you can be out of touch at 30 and be on top of everything at 75.

As the senior member of our founding team, I assertively establish my role, leveraging my extensive industry experience and expertise to significantly contribute as a subject matter authority. This strategic positioning allows the younger members of our team, including the CEO and COO, to effectively execute their leadership roles. My primary aim is to augment our collective efforts in crafting an exceptional product that addresses the core issues we aim to solve. Utilizing my depth of knowledge for product development not only clarifies my contribution but also ensures my insights are valued and respected within the team.

No matter your age, there will always be people who discount you. To quote Steve Martin, you simply need to be so good they can’t ignore you.

I launched my award winning business in 2019, age 51, and it supports hundreds of other small businesses, many of them over 50. Experience in different fields or in previous businesses set them up for success. I am a great believer in lifelong learning which is why I am currently taking an MA in Digital Marketing!

There is a reason generals are 'mature' and privates so young. Experience is build upon what one learns from the mistakes of life.

People will share their cognitive biases with you in their feedback. Just remember that it is feedback only, and you are free to use it or not. The best response is, “Thank you.” Evaluate feedback as a set of data points. Repeat data indicates a point you should consider addressing. Actions include adapting to remove or minimize the objection, finding a different set of advisors, or ignoring it and moving on. This data should inform rather than drive your decisions.

Confidence is key at Vidyutva. We encourage our team, regardless of age, to take pride in their journey and the resilience they've shown. We celebrate each achievement and use it as a building block for self-assurance. We foster a supportive environment where the value of experience is recognized and appreciated. By nurturing a positive self-image and surrounding ourselves with people who believe in our vision, we strengthen our resolve to succeed in entrepreneurship.

Confidence, unlike technical skills, isn't something readily acquired through training or academics. It's a product of experiential learning, exposure to diverse situations, and the invaluable lessons gleaned from both successes and failures. This journey, often spanning years of professional and personal life, shapes a deep-seated belief in one's abilities. This inherent confidence is a powerful weapon against age-related biases in entrepreneurship.

Technical skills are crucial, but your true value lies in the confidence gained through experience. Years of overcoming challenges, both professional and personal, have honed your perspective. You've learned from your successes and failures, building a deep belief in your abilities. This confidence is your weapon against age bias - a testament to your resilience and wisdom.

More experienced entrepreneurs feel more comfortable in their own skin. They don't have as much to prove, and they have more experience than the 25 year old version of themselves. Want to stand out? Highlight your failures and what you learned form them. You'll beat the young entrepreneur whose goal is to show that he has a 100% record of achievement every time.

Demonstrate the real value you bring to the table, independently of age or other factors that could bring some biases into the discussion. Show experiences, knowledge and gains.

Highlight the extensive experience and knowledge you've gained over the years. Emphasize how this experience makes you a valuable asset in the business world.

Mature entrepreneurs (like me!) bring with them a wealth of skills and experience that come from so much life experience. In particular, the value in understanding how to connect and engage with people, how to manage finances, how to problem solve and assess risk are all incredibly valuable when it comes to starting a new venture. There's a good chance we will have failed at a few things too (my first business failed quite dramatically) but showing how to take the learning from that and apply it to future endeavours has real value too.

As ive been dealing with ageism in cannabis recreational its important to realize your place and authority on a subject. By offering it to the correct people you're path will open up. When connecting to the right people this will never be an issue because respect is given.

Find people to nurture and educate so they can also reach a new level of knowledge and help you in the future if you need more improvement.

There are lots of opportunities in this world of ours for all. Nothing can replace the years of experience and expertise also knowledge on many subjects. It is a fallacy to think one indevidual knows everything, so take the opportunity to pass on to others so that then they may also learn. To keep an open mind No matter who,what is the subject involved, THIS will be an asset to any companies that are willing to Listen.

Our economy needs entrepreneurs. The more experienced they are in business, the faster they can respond as entrepreneurs to needs and changes. This speed is what counts in entrepreneurship. Especially individuals who are still fit at retirement age can thrive by starting a business. It makes sense, after all, these people often have the most experience. Why waste this valuable treasure?

Entrepreneurship in my opinion has no age limits. Entrepreneurship primary is about solving societal problems make living easier and more convenient. No matter your age as an entrepreneur, , your focus and determination should be on building credible and relevant solutions that solves societies problems. An older age venture into entrepreneurship could mean more effort to developing the entrepreneurial mindset of resilience and innovative. But when one is determined to be an entrepreneur age should only be not just a number but a motivating factor as well

I believe networking can contribute to revealing talents, regardless of age and other prerequisites. I also think that reverse mentoring can be beneficial for any organisation: the more experienced share with the new entrants, and vice-versa, which means that all of us need to keep an opened mind!

Personally, I find entrepreneurial journey in later stage of career providing benefit to founders as their network is most likely much bigger and more versatile compared to ones who have not had a chance to build network yet, possible only worked in one or two companies as employees, hence they would most likely learn from their own mistakes as entrepreneurs.

It is really important to build relationships with a like minded network to overcome any form of bias. People tend to bring their assumptive beliefs to those they do not know well. Building ‘know like and trust’ is therefore an extremely powerful tool when it comes to countering any form of age-related bias. Everyone is surprised when I say I am 62 because they think I am in my 40’s. I truly believe this is because I have worked hard at maintaining a youthful spirit and attitude and connecting with those who appreciate that. 🙌

Business success comes through surrounding yourself with the right people. The only way you can effectively do that is through networking and getting to know people from different backgrounds than your own.

Innovate to keep you and your solutions relevant overtime. Innovation can mean adaptability to what the current needs of your customers are and your ability to predict what their future needs maybe. The more you engage your customers the easier it is to understand their current and future needs

Don't just adapt, leverage your experience as a competitive advantage. Seasoned entrepreneurs bring invaluable assets: proven business acumen, a vast network, and a crisis-tested resilience. In my experience mentoring late-career founders, I've seen investors value this stability. One founder, in his 60s, faced initial scepticism about his tech startup. He countered by emphasizing his decades-long industry experience and his established network that could fast-track market penetration. Frame your experience as a strategic benefit. Highlight past successes, industry knowledge, and the proven ability to navigate challenges. This approach positions you as a seasoned leader who can steer your venture to success.

I’ve never met a successful entrepreneur that wasn’t willing to adapt in some way. Almost every business, when starting ends up to some extent on a different path than the original plan. This that fail likely couldn’t adapt, those that succeed are often those that were able to adapt to the market after they got started.

“Make the leaders follow, get hard against the hollow, get deep beneath the shallow, bust lies, get live and FUCK IT UP!!!!”

Ask calibrated find out questions to uncover the root of the bias. Prepare the next presentation (for that same company/individual or the next one) with addressing the elephant in the room up front. By frankly stating it up front, you can open the door for meaningful dialogue. You can also position yourself as unique for that very point of potential concern. You may find the other side championing your cause before you get to your value connection.

It’s never too late to start a business if you have the resource and the market for it. My father-in law started his biotech company after 55 and successfully got an early retirement. My mum started her fifth business at 63 and grew double in the second year. Age might affect your risk appetite but it’s not a reason your business will fail or not.

Calculated risks are often more apparent with mature leaders therefore they would more like take the company to the safe place rather than to the brink of bankruptcy due to risky moves. Although risk is a part of the journey, today, in highly competitive markets risks are to be calculated rather than high stake risks.

This topic is about if age-related biases hinder your late-career entrepreneurship and people are answering about 'leadership' ad 'internship?' Both have nothing to do with 'entrepreneurship'. 'internal entrepreneurship' does not exist as I know from experience when I started to make money online next to my corporate job in 2001 helping independent entrepreneurs online worldwide as side-hustle and when I became a full-time independent entrepreneur in 2011, leaving the corporate rat race at the age of 54. And it has been like this until now. Age is irrelevant to survive & thrive in the AI-powered economy & the new age of work. Its about attitude, relevant knowledge, experience and continuous relevant life-long fast learning.