Why It's Never Too Early or Too Late to Start a Business
Let me tell you about a scene I witnessed countless times from my red chair in the Shark Tank. An entrepreneur would walk in, and before they even opened their mouth to pitch, I could see the other Sharks (and often, the audience) making instant judgements. Sometimes, it was a fresh-faced 19-year-old, and the unspoken thought was, “Do they have enough life experience?” Other times, it was a 55-year-old with a lifetime of corporate experience, and the whisper was, “Are they agile enough to keep up?”
This ingrained bias—this belief that there is a "perfect age" to start a business, usually a 20-something in a hoodie—is one of the most pervasive and destructive myths in the world of entrepreneurship.
I am here to tell you it is unequivocally false.
Your age, whatever it may be, is not your barrier. It is your unique, uncopyable, strategic advantage. It is your secret weapon. The question is not if you are the right age, but how you are going to leverage the distinct superpowers your age gives you.
I started RedBalloon in my late 30s, after a long and successful corporate career at places like IBM and Apple. My experience wasn't a detour; it was my launchpad. I had a network. I understood financial discipline. I knew how to manage people. Conversely, I’ve invested in and mentored young founders whose digital intuition and boundless energy left me in awe.
There is no "right" age, only "your" age. And your age is the right time to start. It’s a topic so important to me that I dedicated an entire podcast episode to breaking down these stereotypes.
Today, I want to give you my definitive guide on how to reframe your thinking. We will explore the unique superpowers of both the young founder and the mature founder, and the universal truths that bind us all.
The Superpowers of the Young Entrepreneur - The Rocket Fuel of Naivety and Energy
If you are in your late teens or twenties, the world tells you that you lack experience. I want you to reframe that. What you possess is something that older founders would pay millions to recapture: a clean slate and a powerful combination of untapped assets.
1. Boundless Energy and Resilience
Let's be honest: starting a business requires a ferocious amount of work. The ability to pull an all-nighter to finish a prototype, spend a weekend at a trade show, and then bounce back on Monday morning for a pitch meeting is a physical advantage. This isn't just about hustle; it's about momentum. In the early days, the speed of your execution is critical, and the sheer physical and mental stamina of youth is like having a larger fuel tank than everyone else.
2. Digital Native Intuition
Young founders don't just use technology; they have grown up speaking its language. They have an intuitive, almost cellular understanding of social media, viral marketing, community building, and emerging digital platforms. While an older founder might need to hire a consultant to understand TikTok, a young founder understands it instinctively because it’s part of their social fabric. This allows for authentic, rapid, and often low-cost marketing and customer acquisition that can outmanoeuvre larger, slower-moving competitors.
3. Productive Naivety and Fearlessness
This is my favourite superpower of the young. Experienced people often know all the reasons why something can't be done. They've seen projects fail. They've been beaten down by corporate bureaucracy. They've learned the "rules." A young founder, blissfully unaware of these supposed rules, is free to ask, "Why not?" This productive naivety leads to true disruption. They are not afraid to challenge industry dogma because they don't even know what it is. This is how entire industries get turned upside down.
4. Lower Opportunity Cost and Greater Agility
In many cases, a younger person has fewer financial and personal commitments. They may not have a mortgage, school fees, or a high-flying corporate salary to walk away from. This lower opportunity cost makes taking a risk on a new venture a far less terrifying leap. It allows them to live frugally, reinvest every dollar back into the business, and pivot quickly when an idea isn't working, without having to worry about supporting a family on the outcome.
Your Action Plan (If You're a Young Founder):
- Find Your Mentors: Your energy is your engine, but wisdom is your steering wheel. Actively seek out experienced mentors who have been where you want to go. Absorb their knowledge about finance, governance, and strategy.
- Embrace Financial Literacy: Your biggest weakness is likely to be a lack of financial acumen. Make it your mission to understand your numbers inside and out. Learn to read a Profit & Loss statement, create a cash flow forecast, and understand your key metrics.
- Don't Mistake Activity for Progress: Your energy can be a trap if it's not focused. It's easy to be "busy" all day without actually moving the needle. Be ruthless about prioritising the one or two activities that will create the most value for your business.
The Superpowers of the Mature Entrepreneur - The Master's Toolkit of Wisdom and Networks
If you are starting a business in your 40s, 50s, 60s, or beyond, society might try to tell you that you've missed your chance. This is utter nonsense. You are not starting from scratch; you are starting from a position of immense, hard-won advantage.
1. The "Unfair Advantage" of a Deep Network
This is your single greatest asset. You have spent decades building relationships. Your network contains former colleagues, clients, suppliers, and industry peers. A 22-year-old has to cold-call to find a good lawyer; you know three of them personally. A young founder has to beg for a meeting with a key decision-maker; you can likely get them on the phone with a single text message. This ability to activate a trusted network for advice, introductions, partnerships, and even first customers is an advantage that cannot be overstated. It can shave years off a business's growth cycle.
2. Deep Industry Knowledge and Credibility
You have domain expertise. You understand the nuances, the politics, and the unsolved problems of your industry from the inside. This allows you to spot genuine gaps in the market that a newcomer would never see. Furthermore, your experience gives you immediate credibility. When you walk into a room, you bring a track record of competence and trust. This makes it easier to secure loans, win major contracts, and build a world-class team. This was my story. My corporate experience gave RedBalloon instant credibility when we approached big brands for partnerships.
3. Financial Acumen and Access to Capital
Mature founders are often on a much stronger financial footing. You may have personal savings, home equity, or retirement funds you can draw upon (carefully, of course). More importantly, you understand how money works. You’ve managed budgets, you understand profit margins, and you’re less likely to make the rookie financial mistakes that sink many young startups. Your financial stability allows you to think long-term, weather early storms, and invest strategically in growth rather than scrambling for survival from day one.
4. Emotional Intelligence and Patience
You’ve weathered recessions. You’ve managed difficult people. You’ve seen projects succeed and fail. This experience cultivates a level of emotional resilience and patience that is priceless. You're less likely to panic when things go wrong (and they always go wrong). You understand that building something great takes time. This steady hand is incredibly reassuring to employees, investors, and customers alike. It allows you to lead with a calm confidence that is magnetic.
Your Action Plan (If You're a Mature Founder):
- Embrace "Reverse Mentoring": Your wisdom is invaluable, but you may have blind spots when it comes to new technologies or cultural trends. Hire young, smart people and empower them to teach you. Be humble and curious.
- Challenge Your Own Assumptions: Your experience can sometimes lead to rigid thinking. Actively challenge your own beliefs about "the way things are done." Stay open, stay agile, and be willing to unlearn old habits.
- Leverage Your Story: Your journey is a powerful part of your brand. Don't hide it. Talk about how your decades of experience led you to this moment and why you are the single best person on the planet to solve this problem.
The Universal Truths - What Every Founder Needs, Regardless of Age
While your age gives you unique superpowers, there are some foundational truths that apply to every single person who dares to start a business.
- An Unshakable "Why": As I’ve said so many times, your passion and purpose are the only fuel that will last. You must be deeply, personally connected to the problem you are solving.
- Customer Obsession: It doesn't matter if you're 19 or 69; if you don't build something that a real customer wants and is willing to pay for, you have a hobby, not a business.
- Grit and Resilience: The entrepreneurial journey is a rollercoaster. Your ability to get back up after being knocked down, to learn from your failures, and to keep moving forward is the ultimate determinant of your success.
- A Relentless Growth Mindset: You must be a learning machine. You must be insatiably curious, willing to admit when you don't know something, and constantly seeking out new knowledge and skills.
Your Time Is Now
Stop letting your date of birth define your ambition. Stop using age as an excuse—either that you're "too young and inexperienced" or "too old and out of touch." Those are just stories. The truth is, your age is a core part of your story, and it has equipped you with a unique and powerful toolkit.
A young founder brings the spark, the rocket fuel to get off the ground with explosive force. A mature founder brings the wisdom, the master's toolkit to build something sturdy, strategic, and lasting. The world needs both. The best ecosystems have both.
So, look at the assets your age has given you. Own them. Leverage them. Your moment isn't in the past or in the future. Your time is now.
