It is well known that I have a man-crush on Mark Suster. His focus on pragmatic realism dovetails neatly with my own interests, and when he takes a stand, I never feel like he’s doing it for effect.
So my man-love leaped to new highs when I read a recent post of his where he actually did the unthinkable and wrote about the benefits of backing older entrepreneurs:
http://bit.ly/1ahurti
“Age brings wisdom. Timidity, too. And sometimes cynicism. But age
brings perspective. If older entrepreneurs are more cautious it’s
because life’s experiences have taught them to be so.Older entrepreneurs tend to spend cash more wisely, for example. They
feel less in a rush to keep up with the Jones’s since they’ve seen a
few boom-and-bust cycles and they know it’s a marathon.I find older entrepreneurs more willing to have pragmatic debates about competition as well. They realize that there is often more to be gained by attacking the existing market structure than each other.
Older entrepreneurs tend to avoid lawsuits where possible. There is less ego. Younger people still like to fight.
And for the most part they shy away from premature press because they know the consequences of getting over one’s skis.”
It’s hard to add anything to what Mark has said. Bravo.