The Profit Prophet

When most people think of start ups they think of a couple of young kids working in a garage or basement (or now Starbucks), eking out a living until they are purchased for billions of dollars, but this is more fiction than reality. As published in Time's March 14th, 2013 issue, according to research by Vivek Wadhwa, an academic and tech entrepreneur, and the Kauffman Foundation, the average age of successful start-up founders of start-ups and other high-growth industries was 40. And high-growth start-ups are almost twice as likely to be launched by people over 55 as by people 20 to 30. How can that be?  Well firstly, most startups take founders with multiple skill sets and know-how. Yes, dreaming is important, but execution is paramount to success. As an example of this, I thought I would share a story about an old dog and if you can draw the conclusion about age. A wealthy old lady decides to go on a safari in Africa, taking her faithful aged poodle named Cuddles along ...

They say youth is wasted on the young. So, what are you doing to prevent wasting yours?   I wish I had this list 30 years ago.   Still, as Jonathan Swift wrote: “ No wise man ever wished to be younger."   Take these to heart. 1. Not traveling when you had the chance. Being you (young) means you have a lot less responsibilities. Traveling becomes infinitely harder the older you get, especially if you have a family and need to pay the way for three-plus people instead of just yourself. “There are three cures for ennui: sleep, drink and travel." --D.H. Lawrence 2. Not learning another language. Boy, remember how much you hated Spanish, French, or Latin in School? You will kick yourself when you realize you took three years of language in high school and remember none of it and English is NOT spoken everywhere. 3. Left a Bad Relationship Sooner If it is not working, learn to leave, but first learn to love yourself. We all think the relationship we are i...