It's Never Too Late, Entrepreneurs after 50!

If you are reading about entrepreneurship, you’re probably expecting to read about a college dropout in his 20`s that came up with an idea that was developed in a dorm room or his garage.

But who said entrepreneurship has an age limit? We’re always hearing through the media about a young genius who came up with something, but the majority of entrepreneurs in America are mature professionals who launch their own ventures.

In the UK, The Guardian recently wrote an article about people who are starting their own business after retirement. Due to the European crisis, pensions are reducing and are no longer enough to make a living, that’s why people have started their own companies even at age 63. There are also other cases when very active professionals retire, but the lack of activity ends up boring them, which leads to bright ideas that later become successful companies.

According to Vivek Wadhwa, director of research at the Center for Entrepreneurship and Research Commercialization at Duke University “Twice as many successful entrepreneurs are over 50 as under 25; and twice as many, over 60 as under 20. The vast majority -- 75 percent -- have more than six years of industry experience and half have more than 10 years when they create their startup.”

A few examples are:

Cheryl Kellond, a woman who at 43 founded Bia Sport, a GPS sports watch that records time, current heart rate, sending the data straight to an online profile. It also comes with a panic button that gives women who work out alone peace of mind.

And a great example from the office space industry is Sune Larson, a Swedish Entrepreneur who started his business of serviced offices in Stockholm 10 years ago when he was 50.

Sam Taylor a British entrepreneur who started his own company at age 63. An online art gallery which is now offering more than 200 pieces from 30 different artists.

Studies show that although young people tend to assume higher risks, thus more projects are started by them; mature people have more years of experience which allows these new projects to last more over time.

A man once said “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them” That man built an empire of smiles and happiness, he was Walt Disney.

It’s never too late to dream and start making those crazy ideas into reality.

If you’re one of those mature entrepreneurs, we’d like to hear your story, write to us in our comments section and share it with us!