Starting Up Smarter: Why Founders Over 50 Build Better Companies

Why are older entrepreneurs four times more likely to start a successful new company than founders in their 20s? How do small businesses with a social purpose consistently outperform venture-backed startups?

Starting Up Smarter delves into studies of entrepreneurship success and business growth at over 2 million US companies and data from hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs around the world, to answer these questions. The surprising results add up to essential ingredients for startup success in the 21st-century.

In Starting Up Smarter, entrepreneurs who have built profitable, socially valuable businesses share their experiences and reflections about launching companies in healthcare consulting, sustainability and solar energy solutions, franchise ownership, restaurants, publishing, water filtration, and more. Their stories include:

• Wendy Gutterson, who quit her healthcare executive position to start a consulting firm from home, and expanded her team during the pandemic to serve over 100 physician practice clients, with 100% of her business generated by word-of-mouth referrals.
• Paul Tasner, a first-time entrepreneur at 66, whose vision for recyclable consumer packaging was rebuffed by investors, leading to a business model pivot, outsourced manufacturing partnerships, and an innovative digital marketing strategy to attract global consumer brand clients.
• Bill Behrens and his co-founders at ReVision Energy who bootstrapped their solar energy firm and achieved a “Best in the World” benefits corporation (B-Corp) rating, while bringing in over $80 million in annual revenues.
• Jeffrey Harris, whose dream of ending animal cruelty with sustainable vegan fast food inspired a search for co-founders and investors to launch the Plant Power Fast Food restaurant brand.
• Bryan Eagle, who switched career paths to co-found a company that transforms agricultural waste into a water filtration media that reduces both pollution and global water scarcity.
• Doug Peck becoming a business franchise owner at 64, motivated by caring for his own parents to launch a Seniors Helping Seniors company to provide home care services.
• Caroline and Garry Myers, a husband and wife team who built Highlights for Children into a thriving family-owned business now led by their great-grandson Kent Johnson, who reflects on the company’s early days of near bankruptcy, resilience and the founding vision that has since touched millions of lives.

• What experienced entrepreneurs wish they had known when they started their companies.
• That when it comes to starting a company, age and experience are an advantage.
• How to attract inter-generational talent to your business
• Why social purpose and sustainability are strong foundations for attracting startup support, accelerating company growth, and insulating your business against economic downturns.
• The rewards of achieving your business purpose