There’s that saying that “age is just a number,” but it’s really got me thinking the past week or so as I look around me. On one hand, there are all of these entrepreneurs in their 20’s who have decided that the path of starting a company is the one for them. On the other hand, I’ve had discussions with young coworkers and colleagues about graduate school and the application process. And while this may not actually be true, the overall sentiment that I’m receiving is that this decade of our lives is meant to a time where you keep proving yourself on some level (e.g. working at a reputable firm, getting into the top business schools) and that to be entrepreneurial is to be counter-cultural and eschew what that “typical path” represents.
One of the perks of my job is just getting to be around some of the eager young minds that are shaping Indian entrepreneurship. What constantly strikes me is that the majority of the entrepreneurs in the programs CIIE runs are not really much (if at all) older than me. It’s quite impressive that someone with probably a similar skill set to mine have decided to take on the task of starting their own company with that limited experience.
It makes sense to me that entrepreneurs should come in all shapes, sizes, and thus, ages as well. I ran across one company in California while I was doing some due diligence on other support organizations that focuses specifically on senior citizens being entrepreneurs. A pretty cool concept if you ask me. I think about my own grandfather, who since retiring has taken up computers and now goes around the local elderly Korean community in my hometown teaching others how to use them. While he does this mainly because he’d otherwise be bored and the sense of purpose it gives him, he too is being entrepreneurial in pretty much running his own little non-profit service. Of course there are limitations to scale and profitability that accompany old age — try telling a 70 year-old to put together a financial model in Excel — but this is an example of how anyone can be an entrepreneur.
So how does this relate back to us? I think that too often those who have been successful are used to following the tried and true path to supposed “greatness.” There’s a lot that smart people can accomplish, and while I’m not saying everyone should go and start their own company, I do think that everyone should challenge themselves to think more creatively and challenge the current assumptions. Entrepreneurship can come at any age, and honestly, the more experience you have (so long as it doesn’t keep you from still thinking innovatively), can only help in my mind! Thus, I see entrepreneurship as a way of thinking more so than a specific career path, which I think is lost sometimes in our rush to measure number of venture deals and companies founded.
On a completely unrelated note, Ahmedabad celebrating the Ganesh festival!
