This study, involving researchers from MIT, Northwestern University, the National Bureau of Economic Research, and the US Census Bureau, used data from the the US Census Bureau to determine the average age for a founder of a startup, according to different conditions.
Researchers Pierre Azoulay, Benjamin F. Jones, J. Daniel Kim and Javier Miranda found that the average age for a founder of a startup in the top 0.1 percent of highest-growth startups is 45. The average age of a founder of a startup that hires at least one employee is around 42 years old. The lone category that houses founders with an average age of below 40 was VC-backed firms in New York: the average age being around 39 years old.
The results, published in their joint paper in March, suggest that the stereotype of a successful founder — young, nerdy, and oftentimes male — may be off by a few years.
In light of these findings, and the fact that female founders are subject to gender bias in the startup ecosystem, here’s a list of five successful female founders who are 30 and under.
Julia Peng (CEO) and Alice Yang (CSO) VivaVax
Julia Peng has her BSc in Economics from The University of Pennsylvania’s Health Care Management Department at the Wharton School. Alice Yang has her BSc, and a MSc in Immunology from the University of Toronto. The pair developed VivaVax, a system for protecting temperature-sensitive medication by building smart transportation products, VivaShield™ and VivaBIO™, that help regulate the temperature and extend medicine shelf life.
Stacey Ferreira (CEO), Forge
Stacey Ferreira is one of those ridiculously successful college dropouts that serve as an ideal for all college-aged kids with startup dreams. Ferreira is the CEO of on-demand labour app Forge that staffs businesses using the same model that ride-share companies do. Before co-founding Forge, Ferreira co-founded password keeper MySocialCloud.
Laura Vaughan (CTO), Acorn Biolabs
Currently a Thiel Fellow, Laura Vaughan is the CTO and co-founder of Acorn Biolabs: a biotechnology company with aims to preserve people’s cells to use for treatment of health conditions later. They call themselves “the first take-home human cell cryopreservation service.”
Regina Vatterott (COO), EllieGrid
Regina Vatterott is the co-founder and COO of EllieGrid, “the smart pill box” that uses technology for medication management. EllieGrid works with a smartphone app and the box is programmed with a responsive light system to tell you what pills you need to take, and how many of them you need.
