I turned 40 in March. I didn’t think of it much, and I don’t plan on
buying a convertible sports car or otherwise engaging in a mid life
crisis. These age milestones just aren’t as meaningful for most men as
they are for some women. Besides, I still have the maturity level of an
average teenager.
But one thing I am very aware of is my growing skepticism of some of the crazy startup ideas I see. Five years ago when I started TechCrunch I still had real enthusiasm for any entrepreneur trying to build a company. I know from experience that starting companies is psychologically hard, even in the U.S. There are always lots of critics to tear you down. Sometimes all an entrepreneur needs is a few credulous people willing to say that they have a chance. That gives them the psychological boost they need to fight on for another day.
I have always been that guy, looking for the positive in any startup situation. Even if you fail you’ve just had the best on the job training possible. Paul Graham says it best: “So, paradoxically, if you’re too inexperienced to start a startup, what you should do is start one. That’s a way more efficient cure for inexperience than a normal job. In fact, getting a normal job may actually make you less able to start a startup, by turning you into a tame animal who thinks he needs an office to work in and a product manager to tell him what software to write.”
To read the full, original article click on this link: Staying Credulous: On Not Letting Being 40 Get In The Way
Author: Michael Arrington
