Older entrepreneurs succeed more with their startups

Bangalore: If you are holding back because you are old enough to take a risk establishing a startup, then Vivek Wadhwa would certainly inspire you. The 40 year old founder of a high tech startup who studied 549 successful technology ventures was not interested to work for others anymore.

Wadhwa, a Duke University scholar proves that older entrepreneurs have higher success rates when they start companies. They are expert in their technological fields, have deep knowledge of their customers' needs and have years of developing a network of supporters. "Older entrepreneurs are just able to build companies that are more advanced in their technology and more sophisticated in the way they deal with customers," says Wadhwa.

According to data from the Kauffman Foundation, the highest rate of entrepreneurship in America has shifted to the 55 to 64 age group, with people over 55 almost twice as likely to found successful companies than those between 20 and 34. And while the entrepreneurship rate has gone up since 1996 in most other age brackets as well, it has actually declined among Americans under 35.

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