Should age matter for founders?

Episode 3 of Withers talks: founders counsel

The third episode of Founders Counsel explores the relevance of age when founding a company. It has been posited by some that one is over the hill in Silicon Valley at 35. From our experience representing founders, we know that this certainly is not the case. We explored this topic with three active founders at different stages of their lives to hear their stories, perspectives and advice. What we discovered was a fascinating conversation more about what motivates founders to create companies than about age.

In addition, we found that all three of our guests on this episode are socially motivated in trying to make a positive impact, which has taken them on different paths. Our guests include a founder who has started several companies and has also taken a company public, a founder who is just now launching a company she first thought of ten years ago and a young founder still in his 20s who also has the perspective of being a VC. Hear their tips on balancing their time between their day job and side project, what made them conclude that “now is the time” to move forward, on developing external mentor relationships and essential qualities for success at any age.

Guests

Ruma Bose – Founder, Former president at Chobani Ventures and Chobani Foundation. Ruma’s newest venture, coming soon, is a media tech play to empower young girls. Her prior experience includes executive roles with numerous early stage companies in the consumer industry, including President and co-CEO of Sprayology, an innovative wellness company selling vitamin and homeopathic oral sprays. Prior to that she was President at Vincent Longo Cosmetics and she also successfully co-founded and grew Finish Line Floors, a national floor care company. Her investment experience includes being a partner at Zuci Capital and a senior director at Roseworth Capital. Ruma is an active philanthropist and has raised awareness and significant capital for non-profit organizations. She authored the book, “Mother Theresa, CEO.”

Gregory Fischbach – Founder and managing partner, Accelerate Games. He is former chairman of the board at Rabbit a venture-backed technology company he founded, founder & former CEO of Acclaim Entertainment which he took public, former president at RCA Records International, and former president at Activision International. Before getting into video games, Greg was a leading entertainment lawyer in Los Angeles.

David Pickerell – Founder and early stage investor at Yes VC who is also currently launching Para: a suite of tools to empower gig economy workers. Prior to Yes VC, David was business operations lead at Nauto and was an early employee at Uber where he helped launch Uber in Las Vegas.