The roaring 1950s was about a group of such gritty founders—some were taking their first adventure, some were faltering and re-emergence—they dared to get up late and achieved great success in life and entrepreneurship in the 1950s. It's all about prefixes. Merriam Webster defines prefixes as letters, numbers, or symbols added to the beginning of a word or number. Now, depending on how we use prefixes, we can understand the effectiveness or symbolic meaning of the final word. Take letter one as an example. On its own, a person's weight is not large. This is just a number. But with a dollar sign, a person suddenly becomes muscular: one dollar. Now let us say one word: level. The effectiveness of the last word again depends on the type of prefix used. Add it down and it becomes a downgrade. But it adds up to an upgrade. Related story Forbes India's roaring 50s: 49-year-old entrepreneur, 58-year-old billionaire when age is just a number: How Falguni Nayar saw a series of new unicorn startups through Nykaa India and succeeded. What happened, what's next? All people who became founders in their late 30s, 40s or 50s have one thing in common. In the eyes of outsiders, outside the fence, they all started late. Now, ask all these people who finally mustered the courage to start. They all got rid of the burden of age and gave it a new spin: mileage. Forbes India’s latest special issue "The Roaring 50s" tells a group of gritty founders—some were taking their first adventures, some were faltering and re-emergence—they dared to start late and in their 50s It was a huge success. What makes them different from others, especially those of their contemporaries who are thoughtful but not adventurous, is that they decode the information about age. When other people see the chaos of old age, these people turn age into a message: it is now or never. For founders who started late, age is an advantage. Benjamin F Jones, professor of entrepreneurship at the Kellogg School of Management, believes that experienced founders are more successful. "We have seen in the United States that the success rate has risen sharply with age," he said, adding that people who start a business in their 20s have the lowest success rate. He emphasized that although people from the 1950s were not common, they had the highest success rate. The benefits of starting late are many. Jones listed it. The biggest thing is experience. "They have broadened their networks, usually have more financial resources, and are experienced," he said. When these founders start their business in the industry they have worked in before, their chances of success will more than double. "And the longer industry experience the better," he added. Cut to India. The script remains unchanged. Take Kamesh Goyal as an example. He had more than two and a half years of experience in the insurance industry before starting Digit in 2015. Although Goyal was 50 years old when he started, he knew what he was doing. This year, his insurtech startup joined the Unicorn Club, and the joint venture is currently valued at US$3.5 billion. Another example is Hemant Jalan, who founded Indigo Paints at the age of 43, but at that time he had accumulated extensive experience in the chemicals and coatings business. At the beginning of this year, Indigo Paints went on the market. However, there are exceptions. There is no doubt that Falguni Nayar is a classic investment banker. She had no business background when she founded Nykaa in 2012. At that time, IIM-Ahmedabad graduated 49 years old. Nine years later, in November 2021, the 58-year-old founder of Cainiao’s beauty business went public. The 50-something founder reached the top at the right time. Some companies have gone public, some have high valuations, and others are preparing to join the unicorn club. Although all people have different backgrounds, there is one thing in common that unifies them. They started late, but kept reminding themselves that it was never too late. They have no age limit, so they focus on mileage. And all this has just begun! Continue reading the inspirational stories of these founders in this special issue.
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(This story appeared in Forbes India on December 17, 2021. You can purchase our tablet version from Magzter.com. To access our archive, click here.)
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