

Ask HN: 30 yr old+ Startup Founders - SABmore

Any successful 30+ startup founders out there? I'm 33 (considered a dinosaur by most startups) and just dipping my toe into the startup space, but am straddled with a fulltime job, mortgage, bills and a wife, so I'm finding it difficult to pursue my passion while balancing life and keeping the lights on. I realize that being in your 30s really isn't any different that any other time, but I assuming that byt then you have additional responsibilities that limit the amount of risk one can take on. I can't simply stop what I'm doing and put all of my eggs in one basket, and while I could pursue consulting work to free me from my job, it seems as getting that going would take up time, if not more than my current job. I'm looking for honest advice, tips, wisdom on how to make it work.  Thanks in advance!
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27182818284
Genghis Khan went on to reign one of (the?) largest empires in history in his
mid to late forties.

Not exactly what you are looking for, I know, but I hope I hope it gives you
some encouragement.

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sebandr
I'm 52 - a real dinosaur, but I've been hooked on startups since the late 80s
- and with few exceptions have never stopped. The drag for me is that when I
was 30 they said I was too young - now I get the looks that I may be too old.
All BS of course, because being a start up founder is all about commitment,
risk, passion and flexibility. You have to have 1000% commitment not just for
yourself but from your loved ones - if they're not on board with belt
tightening and living off credit cards at times, with you working 18 hours a
day - 7 days a week, with the inevitable ups and downs, high probability of
failure and willing to hang in there in the bad moments ( because a great
start up founder must maintain a positive and optimistic perspective to their
team - translation: you're family will bear the brunt of pent up angst). Then
this isn't for you. On the other hand, it's thrilling to be in the middle of a
hot space, building your dream, exchanging ideas with bright people,
understanding a market better than anyone else, most importantly the joy of
learning new stuff and doing new stuff every day and of expanding your skills
beyond what you thought you could do then do it. Notice I never mentioned
money - if that's what you want, then stick with your job because it'll
provide what you need. Jobs, Gates, Zuckerberg, etc, never ever mention that
they do it for the money - it's never about the money.

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mindcrime
I know sorta how you feel... albeit not exactly. I'm over 30 (38, actually),
but I'm still single with no wife, kids or mortgage. So I can be a little more
cavalier in my approach to things, since no one is depending on me.

That said, I think you can still make a startup work if you want it bad
enough, and depending on your (and your family's) appetite for risk. But if
your SO isn't on-board with the required sacrifice and with the risk, it might
not be such a great idea. Tough call, best of luck to ya!

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sandroyong
First, the age thing is just a number - let's get that out of the way. I'm up
there too (I'm 'cough' 30+, too), wife, 3 kids, mortgage, etc. There is
something to be said about wisdom - calculated risk vs 'reckless abandoment-
type risk (this is not to imply that all 20+ startups are like this). I
believe that added responsibilities in your 30's make you better at assessing
risk in your personal life. Take that knowledge and intuition into your
startup. How to make it work? Good question. Start with an understanding wife
and kids.and finding a balance between your personal, work, and startup. It'd
be nice to have longer days or not have to sleep so much. But, that's
life...startups are never easy. But if your startup is worth it...go for it.
It really boils down to time management. And, when you get to that stage where
the startup has achieved momentum (cusp of getting funding, going public, or
whatever that requires more of your time) re-assess your situation again
because it's going to get harder not easier. If your startup has potential and
you believe in it, fall back on that to drive yourself forward during those
'downtimes' when you question yourself about why you're doing this. In my
case, I plug away at my startup for 3 reasons - my kids. Did I mention you
have to have an understanding wife? Good luck.

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mitrick2
I was almost exactly where you are four years ago. 32, married, with two kids
and one on the way, when I started my company four years ago. One of the most
important things I did before making the jump was sit down with my wife,
explain why I felt I needed to start the business (pursuit of a passion,
happiness in career, etc...), and then we discussed at length the potential
impact it would have on our lives together. This doesn't make it any easier,
but it does help to set expectations and ensure you are going in it together
with eyes wide-open.

Along the way, you are going to have to work your butt off to ensure the
success of the business (no one else will care more about it than you), but
its important to remember that starting your own business also creates some
amount of freedom. No boss to ask for an hour or two off here and there. Pick
your kids up from school, have a random lunch with your wife, work remotely
while taking the family on vacation. If family is important, than a startup is
actually a means to create more freedom in your life and spend quality time
with them.

YMWV, but you need to find a way to make it work to pursue your passion. If
you don't, you nor your family will end up happy :)

Good luck!

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cannuk
This is awesome. It's hard when working a full time job and attempting a
startup to think that at the point where your business is your full time gig,
that the freedom will allow for opportunities you can't have with a 9 - 5. May
I ask what business you started?

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brk
If you spend a disproportionate amount of time on HN, you can easily be led to
believe the "typical" startup founder is an early-20's hoodie-wearing recent
grad.

The reality is that starting a company in your 30's is probably the most
common first-time startup founder age-range. It partly depends on market and
business idea though. I wouldn't want to be a 38 year old guy pitching an idea
for a social viral bar-games scoring app. But, for the sorts of ideas that
tend to require bigger money and a more refined approach, I think I'd rather
pitch that at 35 vs. 25 in today's market space.

Also think about hiring good talent in general (assuming you want to build a
"business" and not an "app"), many people would rather work for an experienced
CEO in their 30's, but the mid/early 20's set seems to have an edge on very
refined "apps" (be it Android/iOS or small webapp) type of businesses, where 4
or 6 people may be able to makeup the core of the company for a significant
amount of time.

Just my opinion, as a late-30's guy who has been rolling through various
startups (my own and working for others) for about 18 years. YMMV.

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leeHS
This really hits home.

I'm 33, wife, son, well paying job. I'm also passionate about food and have
'just' launched a recipe scrapbook web application. It's been tough. Last
night at 2am I was writing e-mails, and coding, while trying to rock our
newborn son to sleep.

You mentioned risk. That's interesting. I'm by no means successful in my
venture (yet!), but I've been able to get this far on about $100 and amazing
support from my wife. So my risk has been on the extreme low side. Now I'm
trying to drum up some interest, and marketing is new for me. So where do I go
from here? Find a foodie co-founder who is awesome at hustling? Stay the
course, try my best, and see where this goes? Quit my job and just go for it?!
Not sure yet.

So I guess I'm just saying, go for it! Don't quite your job yet, get your wife
on board, give yourself 6 months, and see what you can do! It's going to be
TOUGH! But your passion should carry you through.

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sebandr
Depending on what your business idea you should find folks that you mesh well
with and who bring skills that you lack - you can't be everything to everyone
so find experts that share your vision. If you need a sales or marketing guy,
you can find them too - but be sure that's what you need. Know your market,
know your product and then figure out how you'll make your business work -
only then will you have a better idea of the sort of marketing, and sales
folks you'll need. Start by reaching out to friends and trusted folks to
leverage their smarts, reach out to their networks for help and build on that.
Good luck - I love foodie stuff - sounds like a cool idea.

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leeHS
Thanks sebandr.

I didn't want to give a link to the site in my first comment, as it didn't
seem appropriate. But if you're a fellow foodie, I'd love it if you could have
a look and give me your thoughts.

mylifethroughfood.com

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sebandr
I'll be happy to- I'll do it today - and I assume you have contact info on the
site.

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leeHS
Right on the home page at the bottom. Thanks in advance!

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cannuk
I wish I could offer you advice, however I am here to see what advice others
offer :) I am 31 and am in the same boat. While I have heard it is true that
most founders are in their 30s, I have not heard is how many of those founders
have a wife, children etc. I would love to hear advice/stories from
individuals in that situation.

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dirkdeman
Same here, 32, two kids, wife, mortgage, foodie (although that's not my
occupation. Strange. There's a lot of foodies round here...).

I code in the nighttime when the kids (and wife) are asleep. For some reason,
the progress I see actually gives me energy, it's the drag of going to work
everyday that saps it. I'm lucky to have a wife that supports me in my ideas,
I think it's paramount to discuss everything you do to her.

As of October 1, I lost my job due to the economy. This creates a lot of
stress, but fortunately I get a reasonable severance pay from the government
(I'm dutch). Although money is goint to be a bit tighter than we're used to,
it could actually prove to be a blessing since I'll have a lot more time on my
hands.

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badclient
Real Answer: the majority of startup founders.

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SABmore
Thanks everyone, encouraging so far. I'll be honest, one of the
frustrations/fears is not being able to currently commit 100% of my time to my
idea, which inevitably leads to it taking substantially longer (months) to get
something out the door...in the mean time, I look on Techcrunch or HN and
others has developed something similar in a matter of weeks and raised $$. If
there is one thing I've learned, is that hard work does pay off...onward and
upward.

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sebandr
True - but unless your extremely lucky or well connected the probability of
success is super low. Throwing together and app to find a sandwich shop is one
thing - building a viable business plan and launching a business is entirely
different and requires a lot of time to think, understand, research and
evaluate to improve your chances for success. Use this time to do the
research, talk to your prospective customers, observe and learn from potential
competitors, it'll help you understand your market ( or if there even is one )
and find your niche. Once you have all this - at least you'll be better
informed to make a decision to pull the trigger or not - at a minimum you'll
be able to make a case for yourself to friends, family and potential
investors. good luck

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triggervb14
hey SABmore, so my experience is very much the same as yours. Granted I was a
little younger when I started (28) I was in the same boat, mortgage, wife and
great job I didn't want to give up for nothing. So I decided I would make it
work. At this point I should note I have been blessed with an amazing
understanding wife who has been very patient over the years. My strategy was
simple, dedication in the evenings and unlike many startups by a younger
founder where fly by the seat of your pants, I made a very clear plan first
which took over 2 months in the evenings. This way when I was ready to start
development my work was very concentrated based on the plan I had developed.
In addition this proved to be very beneficial when I brought on another
developer. They could be working during the day without having to call me.

One thing I will say... do it, work your butt off and it will pay off in the
end!

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cannuk
Mind if I ask how successful you were? Were you able to go full time on your
venture?

