As I said, I read that line as an illustration of an obvious incongruity between the company the founder is trying to pitch and the perception of the background and qualifications of the founder. Age plays into this, and if the 50+ founder doesn't have a strong history in compsci/startups/whatever, the assumptions generally attached to 50+-year-old sales people will stick. As such, the founder will need to recognize that he needs to establish credibility with the audience before he can successfully sell them on his ultra-hip location-aware social tweeter app. Generalizations and stereotypes are a reality that founders must shape to their advantage.
> Generalizations and stereotypes are a reality that founders must shape to their advantage.
I think this is ultimately true. Whether the bias is justified or not, the best founders will be aware of it and work to make up for it. The same could be said for bias against women in technology, for example.
That being said, I still believe this bias is wrong, and am concerned that this VC so publicly shared it, because to me, his publicly sharing it indicates that he's not even aware there's anything wrong with it. I do not believe a 50 year-old should have to work any harder than a 24 year-old in proving that they have what it takes to run a social startup.