Older Women Entrepreneurs May Be Business’ Most Overlooked Growth Engine

Research shows that age and gender bias can still prevent older women in business from gaining access to opportunities and capital.

The startup world loves a young disruptor, but experience may be one of the most valuable assets when building a business. Women entrepreneurs over 50, however, continue to face both gender and age bias that can affect how customers, investors, and business leaders perceive their expertise and potential.

That disconnect matters because research has repeatedly challenged the notion that youth is the strongest predictor of entrepreneurial success. A study from MIT researchers found that the average age of founders behind the fastest-growing new ventures was 45. The research also found that prior experience in a specific industry was a strong predictor of entrepreneurial success.

For Meryl Rosenthal, who became a solo entrepreneur at 50 after her co-founder left their consultancy, that experience became a competitive advantage.

“What helped me move forward was the combination of everything that had come before: work ethic, business experience, perspective, adaptability, and confidence,” Rosenthal told Fast Company. “I was able to step fully into my own voice.”

Yet, Julie Wing, a 65-year-old serial entrepreneur and aviation business owner, found that experience does not always translate into opportunity.

“You have to prove yourself a lot more as a woman, and an older woman,” she told the publication. “Men don’t have to prove themselves.”

Research from Boston Consulting Group and MassChallenge found that startups founded or co-founded by women received less than half the average investment secured by male-founded companies. Still, the women-founded or co-founded businesses generated 10% more cumulative revenue over five years. For every dollar of funding, those companies generated 78 cents in revenue, compared with 31 cents for male-founded startups in the study. That creates a business case, not simply an equity argument.

Older women can bring industry knowledge, professional networks, management experience, and a clearer understanding of the problems they are trying to solve. Those advantages can be especially valuable in an entrepreneurial environment where execution matters just as much as the original idea.

Shubhi Rao, who founded an AI company at 54 after leaving corporate America, said that investment decisions can also be shaped by familiarity. “When you cannot underwrite the future,” she said, “you study the past.” Yet, if the past has disproportionately elevated young, male founders, relying too heavily on familiar patterns may cause investors to miss viable opportunities.