Innovation without age limits
February 1, 2012
A survey of entrepreneurs found that most started their first company at age 39. People with degrees in computer science started companies much sooner than those with advanced training in other sciences or engineering. (Credit: Kauffman Foundation)
Research by Vivek Wadhwa, VP of academics and innovation at Singularity University, and his team found in a survey that the average and median age of the founders of successful U.S. technology businesses (with real revenues) is 39.
They found twice as many successful founders over 50 as under 25, and twice as many over 60 as under 20.
However, “understanding diverse technologies isn’t the domain of the young,” Wadhwa says.
“Though college dropouts may know all about social media, it is very unlikely that they understand the intricacies of nanotechnology and artificial intelligence as well as their elders do. These are complex technologies that require not only a strong education but also the ability to work across domains and collaborate with intellectual peers in different disciplines of science and engineering.”
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Comments (2)
by The Architect
Artificial intelligence actually isn’t that complex, nor does it require a “strong education”. I think companies are just taking the wrong approach to it, and applying it in the wrong areas. I’m sitting on a project that, when finished, could very well become its own multi-billion dollar industry. The only problem is finding the energy to actually turn it into code.
by jessica
you must be under 25…