KOCHI: Do you think it is very late to start that entrepreneurial venture you are so passionate about? If you feel that you are too late to start, then this is for you.
Opportunity vs Age
Yes, there is a perfect age to startup. And that is until any day before you die. Jack Ma started at the age of 40. KFC was started at the age most people retire. Opportunities come every time. It might be easy to find when you are young, but they are still present. All you have to do is take action!
The Benefit of Age
Most young people are so excessively involved in their active social lives that they do not recognise the opportunity when it is staring right at their face. Younger people often end up spending on so many unnecessary things that they have little capital for a startup. It is only when they mature, build self-control, start managing finances, that they create opportunities for themselves. But people who are elder already have this maturity.
Greater Sense of Urgency
Young people have so many distractions, that sometimes they forget to focus on something they really want. But with elder people, they have a greater sense of urgency. They have better discipline and routine sorted out. And thus their dreams often motivate them to get to work.
Old is Wise
A lot of professionals often believe that elders are wiser and take an elder person’s advice more seriously. They take their commitments more seriously and value their words much more than a college fresher. This gives you an innate advantage of potential business partners and investors valuing you much more than a younger person.
Your Network
As you age, you get to meet a lot of people from diverse backgrounds. So if you decide to start even later on in life, you will have a really good network to tap into for connections, introductions and even finances. Such a rich network that is built with age is almost impossible for a college graduate.
Where Do You Start?
The most important thing that you can do when it comes to getting a late start is to take your eyes off the past and start working now. It’s never too late and will never be unless you feed your brain just that. So get started!
Rajeev Tamhankar is Founder,
TBS Planet Comics, ex- IITR, Flipkart, Xiaomi
(The views expressed by the author are his own)