From the deals that come my way, I see a lot more older founders with experience these days.
That said, I think the main reason why SV prefers younger founders is exactly because of their naivety + lack of understanding in their respective domains. E.g. It’s a lot easier for someone who has never worked in healthcare to try to disrupt healthcare, than someone who’s been institutionalised by the system they’re embedded in.
99% of these young founders won’t work out, but occasionally there will be one with a fresh idea that truly disrupts a system and gives the hypergrowth returns that VC guys want
Also work life balance/personal runway aspect. It’s a lot easier for a 20 y/o with no significant other, no kids, essentially no bills to work 15 hour days while sharing a small apartment with their cofounder. For younger folks that is new, exciting and an adventure. For the older crowd, well it’s a bit of a tougher sell especially if you have to move from elsewhere into the Bay Area with its astronomical cost of living and you are pulling from savings every month (which already means older folks need savings as a prerequisite for a startup compared to a younger person)
But it works both ways. Having a spouse, kids, obligations can make you hyper focused on providing the best life you can for them.
I was a young founder that turned into an old founder. Same company for 40+ years, no exit. We talked with VCs and potential investors many, many times. Once we were past a certain age, they became much less interested and my take on the reason is:
At a certain point, we had a lot of experience running a company. All parts of it. When we interacted with VCs or potential investors, the things they can pull on a 20 year old were obviously not going to work on us. I'm talking about financial slight of hand, terms in contracts, etc.
As for the disruption, I feel it's not the young that do it. Some companies started from experienced founders who couldn't get it done in their current company and went on to found a new, successful company:
That said, I think the main reason why SV prefers younger founders is exactly because of their naivety + lack of understanding in their respective domains. E.g. It’s a lot easier for someone who has never worked in healthcare to try to disrupt healthcare, than someone who’s been institutionalised by the system they’re embedded in.
99% of these young founders won’t work out, but occasionally there will be one with a fresh idea that truly disrupts a system and gives the hypergrowth returns that VC guys want