20 people who became successful entrepreneurs after 39

Running a business isn’t easy. It takes hard work and discipline to reach success. As a result, it should be unsurprising that many times, it is the older and wiser among us who are better at navigating that road. So don’t count yourself out, no matter what age you are. Success can come to anyone at any time.
 
That depressing saying, “A fool at 40 is a fool forever,” no longer holds water. My father says that to me many times. He does not see how my music is going to butter my daily bread and make me successful. He introduces me to his friends and extended family members as his first daughter who is a business consultant. No, he will not say that I am also a musician and a writer. Those are ‘below standard careers’.

The twenty people that I am going to write about now started their businesses after the age of 39. Only one of them started his business at the age of thirty-five but he did not make real headway in his business until he was forty-one.

I intend to do a research about Nigerian entrepreneurs who started their businesses after 40. Hopefully, that will not be their football age.

So, if it looks like you have not achieved much at age 39, like myself, there is still hope for an overall success from age forty that will last forever.

1. Donald Fisher co-founded Gap at 41

In August 1969, at the age of 41, Donald Fisher and his wife Doris opened their first Gap store on Ocean Avenue in San Francisco. At the time, they only sold Levi’s jeans.

The Gap quickly expanded to new locations and in 1974, introduced its own denim label. 

In 1991, it stopped selling Levi’s entirely. Though it’s not without its struggles, the $9 billion company continues to endure today.
 

2. Lynda Weinman co-founded Lynda.com at 40

The self-taught computer whiz and former graphic arts professor recognized early on the potential of the internet and the need for her students to learn how to publish to the web. 

In 1995, after struggling to find a book on web design to recommend to her students, she decided to write her own. 

Designing Web Graphics sold hundreds of thousands of copies and was the springboard to what would become Lynda.com, an Internet based training company she started with her husband Bruce Heavin. It was sold to LinkedIn in April 2015 for $1.5 billion.

3. Herbert Boyer co-founded Genentech at 40

A biochemist and genetic engineer, Herbert Boyer, along with geneticist Stanley Cohen, was first to demonstrate the usefulness of recombinant DNA technology in commercial medicine, laying the groundwork for what would become Genentech, a pioneer in the biotechnology industry. 

When venture capitalist Robert A. Swanson got wind of Boyer’s breakthrough, he requested a meeting and was given 10 minutes that turned into three hours and the end result: Genentech was launched. 

Though Swanson and Boyer faced skepticism in the early days they forged ahead, creating a whole new industry that’s still alive and kicking.

4. Bob Parsons started GoDaddy at 47

Former U.S. Marine Bob Parsons had started two companies — one of which was Parsons Technology, a software company he sold to Intuit for $64 million in 1994 — before he launched GoDaddy , the $4 billion web domain registrar. 

It was after taking a year off as part of his deal with Intuit that Parsons realized he didn’t want to retire. 

He started GoDaddy in 1997 to have “something to do.” Since then he has followed one philosophy: “make a little money from a lot of people. This differs from many companies who have just the opposite philosophy,” says Parsons in his online biography. Parsons stepped down as executive chairman in June 2015.

5. Chip Wilson began Lululemon at 42

For Chip Wilson, it was his first yoga class back in 1997 that sparked the idea for a line of comfortable, stylish women’s yoga wear. 

Wilson had recently sold his share in Westbeach, a snowboard apparel company and smartly bet he could use the same stretch fabric they used for long underwear to make high-end yoga pants that would appeal to the masses. 

It was both his ability to find a problem and come up with a solution and his experience in apparel that enabled him to not only create yoga pants that were comfortable and appealing to the eye but transform an entire industry. 

In February 2015, following a major recall, a series of controversial comments about women’s bodies and a standoff with the company’s board, Wilson cut ties with Lululemon . His wife and son launched Cashmere Shop Kit & Ace in 2014. 

6. Momofuku Ando, noodles at 48
The Taiwanese entrepreneur was 48 when he invented the food that would eventually become a staple for children and adults. He created, instant ramen noodles. 

He began experimenting with the food product in 1958 behind his house in Ikeda, Japan.

7. Thomas Siebel co-founded Siebel Systems at 41

For Thomas Siebel, it was his experience at Oracle and the money he made as CEO Gain Technology that enabled him to co-found Siebel Systems in 1993 with Patricia House, a former marketer for Oracle. 

During his years at Oracle, Siebel’s knack for selling propelled him up the ranks. Recognizing inefficiencies within the sales group, he developed a program dubbed Oasis in 1987 that streamlined communication among the sales reps. 

Two years later, he spoke to Oracle CEO Larry Ellison about commercializing it externally; Ellison didn’t see the potential. 

Siebel took a leave of absence soon after and never returned. His next role was as CEO of Gain Technology, a small multimedia software company he quickly sold for $110 million in 1992. Netting $10 million from the deal, he set up his own shop. 

Siebel Systems would eventually become synonymous with customer relationship management software. In 2005, it was bought by for $5.8 billion.

8. Bernie Marcus co-founded Home Depot at 50

The impetus to start a business comes in many forms. For Bernie Marcus, co-founder of Home Depot, it was an abrupt firing that sparked the fire. 

In April 1978, Marcus and his future co-founder, Arthur Blank, were let go from their executive roles during a corporate power struggle at Handy Dan Home Improvement Centers, a now-defunct home improvement chain. 

The two were convinced by friend and business colleague Ken Langone to open their own home improvement store. Langone arranged the financing and the rest is history. The first two Home Depot stores opened in Atlanta in 1979. 

Today, Home Depot has nearly 2,300 locations and boasts annual sales of more than $80 billion.

9. Bill Porter started E*Trade at 54

An early player in the online investment industry, Bill Porter used $15,000 to launch an electronic system for stockbrokers called TradePlus in 1982.

In 1991, that company became E*Trade, the $7 billion online trading giant for do-it-yourself investors. 

While he is best known for that company, Porter had a long legacy of inventing, holding 14 patents and developing more than 20 products including a type of broadcast television camera. 

After founding E*Trade he went on to launch the International Securities Exchange (ISE).

 

10. Robert Noyce co-founded Intel at 41

After earning his doctorate in physics from MIT, Robert Noyce found work as a research engineer, eventually ending up at Beckman Instruments. 

In 1957, he and seven others left Beckman and founded the Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation. While he enjoyed some success there, he eventually left with Gordon Moore. Together, they founded Intel when Noyce was 41.

Noyce was considered the visionary of the company and treated staff like family. He declined the lavish benefits that most CEOs received and kept the company less structured and more relaxed. 

While at Intel, he oversaw the invention of the microprocessor, an innovation that revolutionized computer technology and forms the foundation of the machines we still use today.

11. Ray Kroc spent his career as a milkshake device 

salesman before buying McDonald's at age 52 in 

1954. He grew it into the world's biggest fast-food 

franchise.

12. Anna Mary Robertson Moses, better known 

as Grandma Moses began her prolific painting 

career at 78.

In 2006, one of her paintings sold for $1.2 million. 

Previously, she was a housekeeper and farm 

labourer.

 

13. Harland Sanders, better known as Colonel 

Sanders, was 62 when he franchised Kentucky 

Fried Chicken in1952, which he sold for $2 million 

12 years later.

Before serving up his renowned original recipe, 

Sanders held several odd jobs including 

country lawyer, gas station operator and railroad 

worker.

Colonel. Sanders did not start out as anyone’s idea of a successful businessman. He lost his father at an early age, quarrelled extensively with his stepfather and was fired from multiple jobs, even losing his job as a lawyer after a courtroom brawl with his own client. However, he was determined to never give up and this trait led to his eventual success.
 
While working at a service station in Corbin, Ky., Sanders gained local popularity for his delicious chicken recipe. 

After the Corbin station was destroyed by a fire, Sanders had the location rebuilt as a motel and 140-seat restaurant. 

In 1952, at the age of 62, Sanders franchised his “Kentucky Fried Chicken” for the first time. 

Today, KFC has over 18,800 outlets in 118 different countries and territories.

14. GEICO, or the Government Employee’s Insurance Company, is now a well-known car insurance brand with well-known advertising figures. But before the Gecko, the Caveman or Maxwell, GEICO was the idea of Leo Goodwin. 

Working as an accountant in San Antonio, Texas, in the 1930’s, Leo Goodwin realized that insurance needed an overhaul. Why weren’t companies just dealing with customers directly, saving all the money that traditionally went to brokers? (He looked for a problem and sought how to solve it. This is what entrepreneurs do).

In 1936, at the age of 50, Leo founded GEICO in Washington, D.C. In a departure from most businessmen of the day, he worked closely with his wife Lillian in running the company. 

By the end of the year, GEICO had 12 people on staff and 3,700 policies in force. Today, GEICO employs over 27,000 people and has over 14 million policyholders.

15. Surely a company like LinkedIn, a major social network, was founded by a youngster, like Mark Zuzu, right? Not at all! Reid Hoffman struggled with what to do after he graduated from Stanford. 

He decided to work, but to do so strategically, mapping out a plan of what he would need to learn before he started his own company.

 

When he first started on his own, he founded a networking site called Socialnet, believing that having a great matching algorithm would guarantee success. He tried advertising his new site through magazines and newspapers but never found traction with the idea.

In the end, he left and joined PayPal before leaving his position with the company in 2002 to co-found LinkedIn. Hoffman was 35 when he founded the company and 43 when it went public.

16. If the thought of tomato-flavored ice cream turns your stomach, you’re not alone. 

Wally Blume had a successful 20-year career but knew he had to move on when his boss decided to move forward with that crazy idea. 

In 1995, in his mid-50s, he started his own ice cream company, Denali Flavors, where he created the famous Moose Tracks flavor.

 

Today, this dairy treat brings in $80 million a year alone through licensing agreements. Denali now has over 40 flavors and Blume is still going strong at the age of 70.

17. When you’re 52, newly divorced, broke and depressed, you’d think that the last thing on your mind would be starting a company. Then again, it might be just what the doctor ordered.

 

After getting a dog at her therapist’s recommendation, Carol Gardner won a local Christmas card contest with a picture of the dog and a funny quip. The win inspired Gardner to start a greeting card company, which she named after her dog, Zelda. 

In 2010, Zelda Wisdom was valued at roughly $50 million, showing that you truly never know where your next great idea might come from.

18. Henry Ford started Ford at the age of 40.

 

Despite his family’s expectation that he would take over the family farm, Ford left home at 16 to get a job as a machinist in Detroit. 

This led him to becoming the godfather of the modern era.

19. Born into a poor family, he moved to Bangkok and began his own company, TC Pharmaceuticals. 

Upon meeting Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschictz, they decided to market  Yoovidhya’s tonic drink internationally.

Chaleo Yoovidhya  was 61 when he started his tonic business.
 

20. Gorden Bowker founded Starbucks at the age of 51.

All these entrepreneurs show that age is no barrier. In fact, age and the experience that comes with it is a major part of their accomplishment.

So, relax and take a chill pill. For as long as there is life, there is surely hope.

Have faith.