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Good morning Launch Key 🚀 community.

As many of you know, I started this newsletter because I didn’t feel like I was quite finished at 60. There are far more late career entrepreneurs than we’re led to believe.

And the data shows that we have a higher probability of success. This week we dig into a few articles to back that up.

What are you waiting for?

Comment below and let me know if we’re on the right track.

Table of Contents

• Pull to Eject

  • The average age of successful founders is 45

• Modern Tools

• Old School Wisdom

• Free Knowledge

• Recommendations

• Visual Crapshoot

Pull to Eject

I recently came across this Late Bloomer article by Rich Karlgaard who is an award-winning entrepreneur-turned-publisher, columnist, author, television commentator, private investor and board director. And it just felt like everything I’ve been trying to say.

Youth is wasted on the youth.

I’m joking of course. My own kids are all in their late-20’s and I have really been impressed with their friends and peers. They’re starting things, challenging old ways, building networks, integrating new technologies and willing to experiment.

Marc Andreessen put it better in his recent appearance on Joe Rogan:

Despite their intellect and fast twitch muscles, the kids are missing some key ingredients that only come with seasoning.

The ability to evaluate complex patterns, including other people’s emotional states, peak in our 40s or 50s. Drawing together dissimilar past work knowledge to problem solve only comes through experience. The lifetime network affect and financial stability are both obvious.

Karlgaard’s Late Bloomer article includes some interesting facts:

• The average age of researchers that lead to Nobel Prize winners is 39.

• The average age of U.S. patent applicants is 47.

The average age of successful founders is 45

The ‘startup’ articles all seem to cover the headliners who started in a dorm room – Michael Dell, Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates. Steve Jobs founded Apple at 21.

And while those stories get the majority of attention, in reality they are the outliers.

Research from Wharton management professor J. Daniel Kim shows they are exceptions to the rule, and that the average age of successful entrepreneurs is actually a lot older. The study, “Age and High-growth Entrepreneurship,” determined the most successful founders in the United States are in their 40s.

“The mean age at founding for the 1-in-1,000 fastest growing new ventures is 45.0.

The findings are similar when considering high-technology sectors, entrepreneurial hubs, and successful firm exits. Prior experience in the specific industry predicts much greater rates of entrepreneurial success. These findings strongly reject common hypotheses that emphasize youth as a key trait of successful entrepreneurs.”

Obviously the key takeaway is to get going on your late career ideas.

We may have lost a step athletically, but we have all the business advantages over youth.

Seize the day.

Now go launch something 🚀 

This isn’t traditional business news

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Check it out

Modern Tools

The future of presentations, powered by AI

Gamma’s AI creates beautiful presentations, websites, and more. No design or coding skills required. Try it free today.

Old School Wisdom

Rich Karlgaard’s book shed’s light on why it’s never too late to start a new career. Or add to your career portfolio.

Free Knowledge

Research co-authored by Wharton’s Daniel Kim busts the popular myth that the most successful startups are founded by whiz kids.

Free podcast interview with Kim as fodder for your own late career start.

Recommendations

📕 MGMT Playbook : Practical management insights straight to your inbox every Wednesday.

 🧠 Seven Deadly Stupidities : Discover the patterns that lead to failure and learn how to avoid them.

🗃️ Dealroom Business Success Uncovered : Learn directly from billionaire entrepreneurs on how to grow a business. Join a community of 2,000+ innovators.

Visual Crapshoot