1. Strategy and Value Exchange: Young founders know tech. Successful founders know people.
When a group of economists studied millions of American companies founded between 2007 and 2014, they discovered that the average age of their founders was almost 42.
Their research showed that age was a crucial predictor of success.
“The highest success rates in entrepreneurship,” the authors wrote in their 2020 paper, “come from founders in middle age and beyond.”
Ilya Strebulaev, a professor at Stanford, wrote in his post:
“One of the most common stereotypes about unicorn founders is that most of them are 20-something… However, that’s not what data tells us.”
According to his data, 30+ founders account for over 60% of those who’ve created unicorns.
Being digital-native helps you build tech. Being human-native helps you build a business.
The Wall Street Journal reports that some funds invest only in startups founded by people over 50 – and don’t regret it.
Middle-aged founders may be more successful for many reasons.
For instance, they tend to be more experienced and less emotional.
But I believe they are better at communication.
Business is about value exchange. It requires understanding the people you work with – your customers, employees, investors, and partners.
This skill comes with experience.
What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments!
2. Strategy-related terms: ‘Unmet needs’ don’t exist
Many marketers and strategists advise looking for ‘unmet needs.’
But if you ask your customers about the needs they can’t satisfy, you will find nothing.
Very few problems in this world have no solution.
Of course, exceptions exist.
For instance, there is no medicine for some severe diseases – unfortunately.
But most people know how to solve everyday tasks.
And even if these solutions are imperfect, people are fine with them and don’t look for anything better. Scientists call it ‘satisficing.’
We all share the same set of sixteen basic needs.
So, you shouldn’t look for ‘unmet needs.’ Instead, focus on new ways to meet existing needs.
For instance, people have always needed to work and save time on commuting.
The first solutions were obvious – subway, high-speed trains, highways, etc.
But then Skype and Zoom offered an alternative – work from home and forget about commuting.
So, concentrate on new solutions, not on unmet needs.
3. The trend of the week: Y Combinator’s list
Here is Y Combinator’s list of their requests for startups in spring 2025:
- A Secure AI App Store
- Datacenters
- Compliance and Audit
- DocuSign 2.0
- Browser & Computer Automation
- AI Personal Staff for Everyone
- Devtools for AI Agents
- The Future of Software Engineering
- AI Commercial Open Source Software (AICOSS)
- AI Coding Agents for Hardware-Optimized Code
- B2A: Software Where the Customers Will All Be Agents
- Vertical AI Agents
- Startup Founders with Systems Programming Expertise
- Inference AI Infrastructure in the World of Test-Time Compute.
I’m not in a position to teach Y Combinator how to do its job, but I am convinced that the list of products isn’t the best solution.
I’d start with a list of problems or opportunities.
What problems should startups solve to grow fast these days?
What opportunities should they jump on to thrive?
What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Download my new mini-book The Plague of Strategic Goals for free here—a gift for my subscribers! Oh, and by the way, the same link also has free checklists (in case you haven’t grabbed them yet)!
Svyatoslav Biryulin
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I help businesses scale fast by creating new markets. Want to brainstorm new strategic or product ideas but need the right facilitator to lead the session? DM me.
Read also: Want to create a new market? Focus on what others overlook
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