Answer: 45

Questions:

• Why do you think most people assume founders of high growth companies are in their 20s?
• What advantages does a middle-aged entrepreneur have compared to a 22-year old founder? 
• What types of businesses do you think a 22-year old founder might be better starting compared to someone in their 40s? 

Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

Behind the numbers (Kellogg School of Management research featured in Indicator podcast)

I think to all of us, the biggest finding and the most surprising finding is that when you look at the very highest-growth companies in the U.S., the 1 in 1,000th fastest-growing companies, the average age of the founders when they founded the company was 45.

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Are your students interested in starting their own business? Check out NGPF's popular Entrepreneurship lesson!

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.