[jiggy2011]

There will always be counterexamples to generalisations like this. Also if you are an older person with an existing track record in starting successful and ambitious businesses and significant capital & connections then the picture is going to be somewhat different. People like Elon Musk are also unlikely to be applying somewhere like YC.

What I'm talking about is the first time entrepreneur who maybe has had a steady job for the last 10+ years and maybe kids/mortgage and all the rest of that. These people are probably less likely to be interested in trying to be the next facebook and more interested in a profitable but humble B2B business or something such as that.

[mindcrime]

These people are probably less likely to be interested in trying to be the next facebook and more interested in a profitable but humble B2B business or something such as that.

Why would you think a B2B business has to be "humble"? Do you realize how much money is at stake in the B2B world? Have you looked at the financials for Oracle or IBM lately? How about forget being "the next Facebook" and trying to be "the next Oracle" or "the next Red Hat"?

[jiggy2011]

These sorts of businesses will tend to either be built over a very long time or require huge capital investment to get off the ground.

You can't really give a few college grads a couple of grand and ask them to sit in a room and build the next oracle.

What I mean is businesses that are not either win or fail dramatically. For example you can run a consulting business out of your home office, it might grow into something the size of accenture, but if it doesn't you can still be comfortably profitable.

[mindcrime]

These sorts of businesses will tend to either be built over a very long time or require huge capital investment to get off the ground.

You can't really give a few college grads a couple of grand and ask them to sit in a room and build the next oracle.

I'm still not seeing the same dichotomy you are, apparently. Can you give a couple of college grads a couple of grand and expect them to build the next Facebook? If "yes" and realizing that Facebook took quite a bit of time and capital to grow into what it is today, then how's that different than building the seed of what could grow into the next Oracle? Before they were the behemoth that they are today, Oracle was a startup with one product, a new database using the - at the time - revolutionary "relational" model.

For example you can run a consulting business out of your home office, it might grow into something the size of accenture, but if it doesn't you can still be comfortably profitable.

Fair enough. I'm not sure I buy that there's any particular reason that an older person would prefer that model though. Then again, despite being an "older" guy by HN standards, I differ in that I have no kids, no wife, no mortgage, and live a lifestyle that probably has more in common with some 20 somethings (minus the binge drinking and late nights at clubs). Maybe I'm biased in assuming that there are actually plenty of other 39 year olds living the same way I am, and dreaming of making it big.

[jiggy2011]

I don't know about facebook, but YC companies seem to be all about building something ambitious but failure prone for a small amount of capital. This is probably easier to do with some college grads who have low living expenses and little established career and therefor a big risk appetite.

[hef19898]

Greatly agree with both of you. Maybe "older" founders do better in a B2B world in which they have some domain knowledge, contacts and expierence. Just my guess. What itches me is actually the whole ERP, MRP stuff. So in terms of companies I think I would rather be after the next SAP I think.