20 Year Old Millionaire BS

[Butters]

Although they exist, they're outliers. It takes time to get to a level of self knowledge, self awareness and general and specific knowledge to build and grow a successful business. 

From Claude:

**Most common age range: 40-50 years old**

The most comprehensive data comes from a 2018 study analyzing U.S. Census Bureau data on founders of high-growth companies. They found:

- The average age of a founder whose startup had substantial growth was **45 years old**
- For the top 0.1% of fastest-growing startups, the average founder age was **45**
- A 50-year-old entrepreneur is almost twice as likely to start a highly successful company as a 30-year-old

For "regular" successful businesses (not high-growth startups but solid, profitable companies):

- Most first-time business owners are in their **early-to-mid 40s**
- The 45-54 age group shows the highest rate of entrepreneurial activity
- By mid-40s, people typically have 15-20 years of industry experience, deeper professional networks, and some capital saved

**Why older founders succeed more often:**

They have accumulated industry expertise, developed better judgment about market opportunities, built professional networks, gained managerial experience, and often have some savings or access to capital.

The "20-something founder in a garage" story is real but represents a tiny fraction of successful businesses. Most people who build sustainable, profitable companies do so after spending years learning their industry first.

[Andrey]

Society gives great voice to those young millionaires who promote the idea that everyone can make it. Classic survivorship bias. Also, there's the constant anxiety that time is running out and the window of opportunity is closing, this causes unnecessary stress.

I was part of a start-up for a while but the very idea that we might get funding and start full time on a project that has little propspects of success caused me so much stress that it was unbearable.