Written By Puja Bhardwaj
As per the Psychology theory, every individual passes the eight stages of growth from the infancy stage to growing old. The seventh stage includes individuals aged 40 to 64 years of age. This stage includes critical thinking and mental pressure for creating a balanced approach to personal and professional growth. This creates a solid commitment to mentoring and empowering the next generation. Individuals at this stage are empowered to generate great value for themselves and others.
In today’s modern era, entrepreneurship is not just a journey but a race. No matter how young or how old the entrepreneur is. The main factor is the ability to run the business smoothly, build a passionate team, judiciously handle investments, deliver value to the customers and sustain the momentum. Leading a successful business is about getting the basics right, and age has no role to play. In this article, we are sharing the story of such entrepreneurs and founders who started after 40 and proved their ability and excellence in the business realm:
1. Robert Noyce
The founder of Intel, Robert Noyce, embarked on his entrepreneurial journey when he was just 42 years old. Intel was focused on microprocessors, an innovation that transformed the way computers are used. While Noyce spent decades researching and improving the microprocessor technology before introducing Intel, it was worth the wait. Noyce holds a doctorate in Physics from MIT and is known as a visionary entrepreneur.
2. Colonel Sanders (KFC)
The known American businessman, Colonel Harland David Sanders, has achieved success in founding the fast-food chicken restaurant chain Kentucky Fried Chicken. With time, he acted as the company’s brand ambassador and symbol. At the age of 65, he successfully created the famous chicken recipe and gained worldwide popularity. Before this success, David did different kinds of jobs, from insurance sales to steam engineering; he also utilised his social security cheque to franchise his secret chicken recipe.
3. Sam Walton
Sam Walton is one of the successful entrepreneurs who started after 40 and won big. He founded the first Walmart at age 44. Although he was already leading a successful career in retail management, he laid a solid base for his retail business. The first Walmart was based in Rogers, Arkansas, and was called Wal-Mart. At present, there are over 11,368 Walmart stores worldwide with a billion in revenue each year.
4. Reed Hastings (Netflix)
The famous video streaming platform, Netflix, was started by Reed Hastings when he was 37 years old. The first streaming of this platform was in his late 40s. If you are someone who thinks entrepreneurship is a game only for millennials and Gen Z, you need to think again.
5. Ravinder Bhat
Ravinder Bhan is another successful entrepreneur in the second inning. While he began his journey when he was 31, he soon lost his courage and went back to his corporate path. While Ravinder was doing great in his career, he still wanted to begin his own business. Finally, at the age of 53, he listened to his true calling and started TPS World Learning and successfully established it. The key reason for his successful endeavour is Ravinder’s continuous efforts because he never thought he was too old to start his own business.
6. Falguni Nayar
Falguni Nayar was leading a successful career in investment banking, but she decided to take an entrepreneurial path. Hence, she is Nykaa at age 50. Her brand created a revolution in the Indian beauty market; it created trust and curation when no one believed in online beauty retail. Falguni Nayar’s story presents a classic example of a successful corporate professional who started as an entrepreneur after 40 and won.
7. RK Swamy
RK Swamy is an established name in the Indian advertising circuit. At the age of 50, he started RK Swamy BBDO, which empowered the growth of numerous Indian brands. RK Swamy is the perfect example of success in the second inning. His journey reflects the fact that age is just a number; it cannot be a barrier to entrepreneurship.
Besides the above, Amadeo Giannini and Gordon Bowker are some other great entrepreneurs. Amadeo established Bank of America at the age of 61, and Gordon Bowker founded Starbucks at the age of 52. These were some great examples of successful entrepreneurs who started after 40 but achieved remarkable success. Their stories perfectly reflect that age is not a barrier.
