Is there a best age to start your own business?

The stories of Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs sound like beautiful tales of successful entrepreneurship. The news for high school and university students, who come up with a brilliant business idea, attracts attention, makes us think that in order to reach the top, it is important to start a career at a young age. Is it true?

Success in business at the age of 20 is not the norm, but an exception to the rule, according to the head of the international recruitment company WEM-Experts Inc. Henry Canapi. He says that there are 6 things that are an indicator of whether the start will be strong: the education of the entrepreneur, his experience, income, talent, skills, average age and stability of the company.

The stability of a company is judged mostly by its longevity and the measure is the first 5 years – if it survives through them, it is much more likely to have a longer and more successful history. A study by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that more than 50% of businesses close before they are 5 years old. Over 55% of companies with up to 10 years of history are created by people with an average age of 36, 5 years.

Another analysis by the Tinbergen Institute in Rotterdam covers the period from 1979 to 1992 and confirms that the companies of older businessmen are more stable over time than the ventures of younger founders, which go bankrupt faster. In this context, the best period to start your own business is over 32 years.

After 30 years, education, experience, talent and financial income come together and work together for success, Kanahi said. The top manager claims that almost half of the American technology companies were created by people aged 30 years. This is also proven by data from a survey by venture capital firm First Round: half of the 700 entrepreneurs surveyed have set up their companies between the ages of 31 and 40, and only 3% of businessmen have done so before.

Between the ages of 30 and 35, people gain the most knowledge in the field of business, make the most acquaintances in these circles and find the most options for developing their ideas. At this age, they are most receptive to new practices and opportunities, and it has been shown that a person is more likely to start their own business if someone in their close family or friends is an entrepreneur. Or when communicating with other businessmen encourages them to do so because they accept them as good role models.

20-year-old businessmen are a “rare breed” because it is not possible to get a stable education at this age, and it plays an important role in achieving business success. According to Bloomberg, more than 50% of startup founders who have received large investments have a master’s or doctoral degree. The same is proved by a study by the Kauffman Foundation: among the more than 500 entrepreneurs surveyed, 95% have higher education.

Most entrepreneurs have an impressive work experience in the industry in which they decide to develop their business. According to the analysis of the Kauffman Foundation, 51% of the surveyed founders of companies have between 6 and 15 years of experience at the time of starting their business, and this can not happen if they are under 25-30 years. This is also because people usually have to mature for the idea of their own business – the decisive step is taken when you are already more independent and confident in your abilities.

One of the proverbs of economists is: “When a problem has no financial solution, it has no solution.” That’s why financial security has the hard word in starting your own business – how to realize your idea if you do not have enough funding? There are few people under 30 who have their own income, savings and assets or can take a loan on favorable terms to ensure the success of their company. Over 82% of small businesses have difficulty with cash flow.

Conclusion: It is wrong to think that young entrepreneurs have a better chance of successful business. At the age of 30-35 people have enough stable education, skills, knowledge, useful contacts and financial freedom to achieve the desired, but beware – after the age of 40 these most valuable qualities begin to lose their strength.