Successful entrepreneurs' mean age at founding of successful start-ups for the 1-in-1,000 fastest growing new ventures is 45.0; prior experience in the specific industry predicts much greater rates of success

Age and High-Growth Entrepreneurship. Pierre Azoulay, Benjamin F. Jones, J. Daniel Kim, and Javier Miranda. American Economic Review: Insights. Mar 2020, Vol. 2, No. 1: Pages 65-82. https://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/aeri.20180582

Abstract: Many observers, and many investors, believe that young people are especially likely to produce the most successful new firms. Integrating administrative data on firms, workers, and owners, we study start-ups systematically in the United States and find that successful entrepreneurs are middle-aged, not young. The mean age at founding for the 1-in-1,000 fastest growing new ventures is 45.0. The findings are similar when considering high-technology sectors, entrepreneurial hubs, and successful firm exits. Prior experience in the specific industry predicts much greater rates of entrepreneurial success. These findings strongly reject common hypotheses that emphasize youth as a key trait of successful entrepreneurs. (JEL G24, J14, L26, M13, O31)