BA 50+ Entrepreneurship Trends
Entrepreneurship at 50+: Trending Data
“Senior Entrepreneurs” are not an oxymoron. They are
the 21 st century’s new economic engine.
- Entrepreneurs aged 50+ are launching new businesses faster
than any other demographic worldwide, and an
overwhelming number are creating green businesses.1 - Since the mid-1990s, entrepreneurship has shifted markedly
toward older new entrepreneurs. In 1996, 14.8% of
entrepreneurs were 55-64 years old compared to 22.8% in
2021. 2 - Today, more than 1 in 5 new entrepreneurs are between
55-64 years old. (Kauffman Foundation) - A 50-year-old startup founder is 2.8 times more likely to
found a successful startup as a 25-year-old founder.3 - The mean founder age for the fastest growing new ventures
is 45. (Azoulay et al) - 10% of entrepreneurs in the U.S. start a business because
they’re not yet ready to retire.4 - Small business owners by generation include pre-baby
boomers (0.5%), baby boomers (45.5%), Generation X
(46.5%), Millennials (7%), and Generation Z (.5%). (Guidant
Financial) - Baby boomers (57 to 75 years old) account for nearly half of
small business owners, compared with 7% for Millennials
(ages 26 to 41). (Guidant Financial) - “Senior Entrepreneurs” are 2-3 times more likely to form a
new business than they are to be involved in the gig
economy. (University of Michigan, 2019) - Five years after startup, 70 percent of ventures established
by older entrepreneurs are still in operation compared to just
28 percent of enterprises launched by younger
entrepreneurs 20-something. That points to one crucial
factor: experience.5 - The Federal Reserve Bank’s “Growing Grassroots
Entrepreneurial Ecosystems” is focusing on senior entrepreneurs to boost rural economic development in the U.S.6 - Research demonstrates that older workers can actually be
more innovative than their younger counterparts.7 - As in The Secret Life of the Grown-Up Brain, for example,
Barbara Straunch reminds us that the aging brain can grow
and learn: “The brain, as it traverses middle age, gets better
at recognizing the central idea, the big picture. If kept in
good shape, the brain can continue to build pathways that
help its owner recognize patterns and, as a consequence, see
significance and even solutions much faster than a young
person can.” 8 - Seniors business people often make intuitive leaps grounded
in experience rather than risky random guesswork.
“Seasoned employees have a lot more to teach junior
employees about business intuition,” says Aaron
Harvey, executive creative director at Ready Set
Rocket. “Business is much more than trends and
technology. It’s applied intuition that takes years of
experience to develop.”
1 Thomas Schøtt, Edward Rogoff, Mike Herrington, and Penny Kew. “GEM Special Report on Senior Entrepreneurship 2017.” Global Entrepreneurship Research Association (2017). www.gemconsortium.org
2 Who is the Entrepreneur? New Entrepreneurs in the United States, 1996-2021. Kauffman Foundation.
https://www.kauffman.org/entrepreneurship/reports/who-is-the-entrepreneur-united-states-1996-2021/
3 Azoulay, Pierre, Benjamin F. Jones, J. Daniel Kim, and Javier Miranda. 2020. “Age and High-Growth Entrepreneurship.” American Economic Review: Insights, 2 (1): 65-82.
4 2023 Small Business Trends. Guidant Financial.
https://www.guidantfinancial.com/small-business-trends/
5 Source: Halima Khan, “Five Hours a Day: Systemic Innovation for an Ageing Population.” Nesta.org, (February 2013)
https://media.nesta.org.uk/documents/five_hours_a_day_jan13.pdf
6 Source: Dell Gines and Elizabeth Isele, “Six Steps to Aid Older Rural Entrepreneurs.” The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Community Connections (August 2019).
7 Source: Pierre Azoulay, Benjamin F. Jones, J. Daniel Kim, and Javier Miranda, “Age and High-Growth Entrepreneurship.” National Bureau of Economic Research, Working Paper No. 24489 (April 2018).
https://ssrn.com/abstract=3158929
8 (Source: Barbara Straunch. The Secret Life of the Grown-Up Brain: The Surprising Talents of the Middle-aged Mind. New York: Viking (2010).