创业要趁早:为什么20多岁的人会成为最成功的企业家?

When it comes to building a successful company, most investors and business advocates look for companies with an experienced management team. They want someone that has a “successful track record” with experience forming teams, writing business plans, building products, and managing a P&L.

说到要创立一家成功的企业，大多数的投资商和企业倡导人都会找一支有管理经验的团队。他们要找的是那种曾经有过很高成就，并且在团队组织、撰写商业计划、产品建设以及成本和利润控制方面都有经验的人。

You can’t blame them. As with almost everything in life, practice makes perfect and experience provides learning lessons that allow for improvement and growth. While betting on experienced batters can certainly produce doubles, triples, and even home-runs; the grand slams of entrepreneurship come from the young and ill-experienced 20-somethings.

你不能怪他们这样做，对于生活中的大多数事情来说，都是熟能生巧。有经验就能使改进和增长成为可能。一个有经验的击球手肯定能打出二垒打，三垒打甚至全垒打，而真正拿到大满贯的人往往是那些年轻而又没有经验的年轻人。

Yes, I said it.

确实如此，我说过。

That’s not what you’re going to read in the textbooks. You won’t hear that from a venture capitalist. And, you certainly won’t hear that in your MBA classes.

这些东西你在课本上是读不到的，你也不会听一位风险资本家说起，更不会在你的工商管理课程上听到。

I know, I know. Some of you will say that I am biased because I was a 20-Something young entrepreneur when I started Lendio, but let’s look at the facts:

我了解，我懂。你们当中会有人说我很偏见，因为我在20多岁还很年轻的时候就创立了Lendio公司，但是让我们一起来看看下面的这些事实：

(Some of the) Most Successful Entrepreneurs of our Time and Their (Age):

我们这个时代一些最成功的企业家以及他们的年龄：

1. Founders of Google: Sergey Brin (25) & Larry Page (25)

1. 谷歌公司创始人：塞吉·布林（25岁）；拉里·佩奇（25岁）

2. Founders of Apple: Steve Jobs (21) & Steve Wozniak (26)

2. 苹果公司创始人：史蒂夫·乔布斯（21岁）；史蒂夫·沃兹尼亚克（26岁）

3. Founders of Microsoft: Bill Gates (20) & Paul Allen (22)

3. 微软公司创始人：比尔·盖茨（20岁）；保罗·艾伦（22岁）

4. Founder of Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg (20)

4. Facebook公司创始人：马克·扎克博格（20岁）

5. Founder of Wal-Mart: Sam Walton (26)

5. 沃尔玛创始人：萨姆·沃尔顿（26岁）

Anyone else recognize the pattern? Each one of the founders was between the ages of 20 and 26 when they founded what turned out to be one of the most successful companies of our lifetime.

大家有没有注意到这些人的年龄结构呢？每位创始人的年龄都在20-26岁之间，而他们所创立的公司都在日后非常成功地影响了我们的一生。

20-Somethings Have Nothing to Lose

20多岁的人输得起

One of the main reasons that young entrepreneurs can build incredibly successful companies is that they really don’t have anything to lose. Most of these entrepreneurs are used to living in a cheap college apartment and eating ramen noodles. At that age, the entrepreneur usually doesn’t have a mortgage, a car payment, or a built-up lifestyle to maintain.

那些年轻的企业家之所以能取得如此卓越的成就，一个主要原因就是他们真的不怕输。他们大多数居住在廉价的大学公寓，吃着拉面。在那个年龄，他们通常没有债务，没有汽车贷款，或者还没有形成固定的生活方式。

On the contrary, a more experienced entrepreneur that is starting a company later in life has everything to lose. By this time in their career, they are used to a strong-paying salary. They live in a nice neighborhood with a comfortable car — maybe even a luxury car with a monthly payment attached. When his/her spouse thinks about starting a new company, he/she will also consider the stark reality of losing the comforts of life that they have worked hard to build up during their career. Suddenly, when thinking about all that he/she has to lose, the experienced entrepreneur’s plan to build a successful company include hedges, calculated moves, and conservatism.

相反，一个更有经验的企业家要想晚些时候开始创立公司的话，那他就什么都输不起了。到他们那个时候，他们习惯了拿高薪，他们居住在高档社区，开着豪华轿车，也许还是每月都有贷款的豪华汽车。当他/她的配偶想到要开新公司的时候，他们会想到他们即将要失去辛辛苦苦建立起来的事业。突然想到这些即将要失去的东西，企业家要建立一份成功的企业会遇到很多障碍，需要精打细算，保守经营等。

20-Somethings Can Swing for the Fences

20多岁的人可以孤注一掷

With nothing to lose, young entrepreneurs can look at solving problems with a completely different mindset. There is very little at risk. They aren’t required to hedge. And only the thing that crosses the entrepreneur’s mind is the drive to solve the identified problem in the best way possible. Fortunately, the young entrepreneur has the energy to consistently burn the midnight candle.

因为他们不怕输，所以年轻的企业家们可以用一种完全不同的心态去看待需要解决的问题。他们不需要冒很大的险。没有必要处处小心。他们只需要有那种能以最佳方式处理好问题的头脑。幸运的是，这些年轻的企业家有很多的精力可以彻夜去思考这些问题。

“I never took a day off in my twenties. Not one.” — Bill Gates

比尔·盖茨说过：“我20几岁的时候从来没有请过假，一天都没有。”

Finally, without having been in the workplace, the young entrepreneur has a fresh perspective untainted from the way-it-is-supposed-to-be mindset that is so prevalent in most boardrooms. Consequently, their solutions are new, innovative, and groundbreaking.

最后，那些没有参加过工作的年轻企业家有着一些新鲜、有独特视角的观念，而不是那些会议室中普遍盛行的应有心态。结果是，他们的方法新颖，独特，具有开创性。

If You’re a 20 Something…

如果你是一位正值20多岁的人...

Go for it.

那就去创业吧。

There will never be a better time in your life to live your dream of entrepreneurship. Swing for the fences with a goal to add your name to the prestigious list above. If you fail, it will have been one of the best learning experiences of your life.

这是你生命中实现创业梦想最佳的时间了。为了让你的名字也出现在上面的名单中，赶快设立目标奋斗吧。倘若你失败了，这也是你人生中最有价值的宝贵经验。