One thing that's really bothered me about this narrative. My business has tried lots and lots of things. Most fail. A few succeed. Some fail because of issues getting the right people together. Some fail because the ideas aren't as viable as I thought. Some fail because I don't have the ability to position them. However, the path to success really is littered with failures. This can put stress on a marriage, etc. However, it is important for everyone in a business of any sort to recognize that there will be way more failures than successes.
Also I think every new business fails before it succeeds.
I would expect those with more life experience to get this lesson more often than the young people who have not yet experienced the intimate relationship between success and failure. If I were an angel investor and some day I might be able to be, I'd look much more at how founders saw failures than what their ages were.
It's not just the lessons learned from it. It's how you conceptualize of failure and how you work your way through it to success. Sometimes failure doesn't happen because you make a mistake. Sometimes it is a natural phase on the way towards success.
When I am asked about starting a business, the first piece of advice I give is "your business will fail. It will run out of money. If you want it to succeed you have to be prepared to run it for a while after it has failed."
Also I think every new business fails before it succeeds.
I would expect those with more life experience to get this lesson more often than the young people who have not yet experienced the intimate relationship between success and failure. If I were an angel investor and some day I might be able to be, I'd look much more at how founders saw failures than what their ages were.