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Stupid VCs: Didn’t Graduate From College Is A New “Must Have” Founder Trait
A few weeks ago, there was an article in TechCrunch - College Dropout has become the most coveted startup founder credential that’s talking about how company founders are touting the fact that they’ve dropped out of college as a “feature”.
As Kulveer Taggar, founder of the YC-focused venture firm Phosphor Capital, told TechCrunch: “There’s just this sense of urgency and maybe FOMO.” There is a calculation right now: “I can finish my degree, or I can just start building.”
VCs Often Come Across As If They Are The Smartest in The Room
IMHO, they are probably hanging out in the wrong rooms. Because there is so much data that says the college dropout, or 20-something founder is anything but a sure bet. In that same TechCrunch article, the referenced a paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research that says the mean age of a founder to be in the top 1000 fastest growth companies is 45.
So Kulveer Tagger (who probably is a really smart dude) isn’t really following the data. According to this Endeavor study, 97% of “unicorn” (companies worth >$1b) founders have a bachelor’s degree.
It probably is time for those VCs to start hanging out somewhere else…
Now On To Real Businesses…
Very few businesses ever get investment of any sort, never mind venture capital investment. Further, a surprising number of businesses that get incorporated never generate any revenue…
So, researchers from the Census Bureau & the Massachusetts Institute of Technology did a bunch of research on this topic & came away with some CRAZY data that was highlighted by Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Business:
A 50 year old entrepreneur is 2.8x as likely to found a successful business than a 25 year old.
A 59 year old founder is 31x as likely to found a successful business than the 20 year olds some VCs chase (BTW, it sounds like the VCs chasing college dropouts are working through some things? Maybe funding a 20 year old is better than buying a Corvette and running away with a 20 year old?!?!)
Inc. Magazine Says It Plainly
A Jan 8 article in Inc. Magazine says it very plainly…giant tech and creative breakthroughs often happen earlier in one’s life. There is some combination of youthful energy, fresh perspectives & magic that drives enormous advances in tech, and science & art.
But when it comes down to turning those ideas into a success, all of that magical energy & creativity might be a superpower reserved for the younger crowd, but making that into something meaningful is a different skillset, indeed:
Research shows age isn’t a competitive disadvantage; instead, your experience, skills, connections, and expertise are what will make you successful.
As long as you put those attributes — attributes you’ve earned — to work for you.
As 2026 Starts To Accelerate, Remember This…
You might be 40+, or 50+, or 60+, or 100+…your years of experience, insight, mistakes and successes give you a vast and deep reservoir from which to create strategy, plans, opportunities…and yes, success.
If You Want To Get Your Business Locked In For 2026
This is from the blatant self-promotion department…(you know, that’s probably a strategy that only a 50+ founder might try, right?)
I did a training of how to do modern annual planning. While this was directed at marketing agency entrepreneurs, the lessons are great for any service/SaaS/B2B business. We covered creating a sales plan, how to know who to hire (and how much you can pay them), how think about revenue and expenses & how to create content that works to feed your business. There are recordings, slide deck and some planning resources at Stop Winging It & Start Winning It (and it’s all free…)
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chapter neXt is a newsletter/community/guide for entrepreneurial folks in their 50s and beyond. It is published by Julia Kelahan (check her out on LinkedIn, her amazing strength-based learning center & her ADHD & Executive Function coaching business) and Tim Kilroy (check him out on LinkedIn & his agency growth business & his agency-focused newsletter). They are the proud parents to 5 kids & live near Boston.