When we talk about groundbreaking entrepreneurs, we often picture young, hoodie-wearing prodigies from Silicon Valley—whiz kids in their 20s transforming industries overnight. But here’s the twist: some of the most radical, market-shaking entrepreneurs are older—way older—and they’re packing a wealth of experience that’s hard to beat.

In fact, our new research is turning this idea of youthful innovation on its head. We’ve discovered that older entrepreneurs aren’t just still in the game—they’re changing it. These seasoned founders often bring more profound and far-reaching innovations to market than their younger peers.

 

The Surprising Power of Late-Career Innovators

Think about it. Julie Wainwright was 53 when she launched The RealReal, a luxury resale platform that disrupted the fashion industry. Harland Sanders didn’t start Kentucky Fried Chicken until he was 62, and Bernie Marcus was 50 when he founded Home Depot. These might sound like rare success stories, but they’re actually part of a much bigger picture.

In our recent study, we found that entrepreneurs starting businesses in their 50s or later are more likely to introduce radical innovations—totally new products and services that shake up entire markets. This is about more than tweaking existing ideas. We’re talking about full-on transformation. And why? It’s simple. They’ve got experience. They’ve got resources. And they know what works.

 

Older Entrepreneurs Innovate Bigger

We didn’t just speculate about this—our findings come from hard data. We looked at 2,900 founders of new ventures in Germany between 2008 and 2017. The results? For every additional decade in age, an entrepreneur’s chances of bringing a market-disrupting novelty increased by 30%. That’s huge.

Even more impressive, older entrepreneurs who are seasoned in management and innovation are three times more likely to deliver groundbreaking innovations compared to the average founder. Plus, ten extra years in age can add about €35,000 more in yearly sales from these innovations—26% above the average. In other words, older entrepreneurs don’t just dream big—they deliver.

 

Why Older Entrepreneurs Have the Edge

What’s their secret? It boils down to experience, wealth, and network. Entrepreneurs in their 50s, 60s, and beyond have decades of managerial wisdom under their belts. They’ve built relationships, learned from failures, and mastered the art of scaling a business. And let’s not forget financial security. Older founders are often in a position to take bigger risks because they’ve accumulated wealth, giving them the freedom to go after more ambitious projects.

That’s not all. Older entrepreneurs also tend to hire highly educated teams, bringing together a mix of expertise that supercharges their ability to innovate. While younger entrepreneurs may introduce a greater quantity of ideas, these often focus on improving existing products or processes. Older entrepreneurs, however, are more likely to revolutionize entire industries.

 

Busting The Myth: Entrepreneurship Isn’t Just for the Young

Our findings challenge the stereotype that innovation is only for the young. Older entrepreneurs are proving that experience, not just fresh ideas, drives radical change. Governments and businesses need to take note. If we want to fully tap into this innovation potential, we must rethink policies and work environments to encourage older individuals to embrace entrepreneurship.

For governments, that might mean adjusting pension schemes to support late-career entrepreneurship and fostering career mobility so people can make the leap into business ownership later in life. For companies, it means seeing older workers not as nearing the end of their careers but as innovation powerhouses who can bring new ideas to life.

 

What It Means for Business Leaders

Here’s the kicker for business leaders: Many older employees are leaving the corporate world to become entrepreneurs because their ideas are too radical for the organizations they work for. If businesses don’t want to lose these innovation engines, they should create environments where older workers can drive change from within. By empowering older employees, businesses can harness their unique combination of experience and fresh perspectives to stay ahead in an increasingly competitive market.

 

Conclusion: Innovation Knows No Age

In a time when innovation is more critical than ever, older entrepreneurs offer an underappreciated advantage. Their experience, wealth, and ability to innovate big make them key players in driving economic and social progress. It’s time to rethink what it means to be an innovator—and to embrace the untapped potential of late-career entrepreneurs.

So, next time you think about who’s shaking up industries, don’t be surprised if the person leading the charge has a lifetime of experience—and maybe a few more gray hairs.

 

Author

Ewald Kibler is an Associate Professor at Aalto School of Business (BIZ) and Head of the Entrepreneurship Unit (ENTU). He currently leads a Research Council of Finland (RCF) project on inclusive entrepreneurship and previously served as an RCF Fellow (2018–2023). Ewald holds an M.A. in Sociology from the University of Graz, Austria, and a Ph.D. in Economic Geography from the University of Turku, Finland.

Ewald is an internationally recognized expert in entrepreneurship, with a focus on the creation of new ventures (commercial, social, or sustainable) under resource constraints and in times of crisis. His expertise also encompasses fostering entrepreneurial mindsets and competencies, managing the well-being of early- and late-career entrepreneurs, and understanding the strategic role of entrepreneurs in regional economic and societal development.

The full paper to wich this article refers was co-authored with Murmann, M. and Salmivaara, V., (2023). How does late-career entrepreneurship relate to innovation? Research Policy, 52(69). Read the full article here!