Elders Dominate Among Entrepreneurs
Media buzz usually spotlights 20-something Ivy League grads who start the hottest new tech companies and social networks. But the average tech-company founder is 39 and entrepreneurs over 50 surpass the younger generation two-to-one.
People like David House. He’s 60, and lives up a dirt road in Aurora, Ore., in a home he designed himself.
House describes himself as a life-long entrepreneur. He’s started several computing companies. He ran a medical-device company until it hit financial troubles two years ago.
Some decades ago I wrote a book about biogas production. This book amazingly has turned out to be the most complete reference about that somewhat obscure form of alternative energy. One of my sons then looked on Amazon, he saw the book was selling for $140. So we thought, “Well gee, maybe here’s an opportunity.”
House now has a biofuels consulting business. He just evaluated a project in India. The book is back in print, and selling well online.
The Kauffman Foundation says entrepreneurs aged 55-to-64 have founded new companies at nearly twice the rate of 20-to-34-year-olds. Of course, not every 60-something is like David House, with a promising green business up their sleeve and the energy and drive to launch it.
Photo by House Press.
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