In Argentina, where the workforce is considered as more “creative” or ingenious compared to other countries one in four workers is involved in some type of entrepreneurial activity. The most common areas they venture into are technology, gastronomy, design, education and tourism.
although the age may appear to be a determining factor To advance in this path of “self-employment”, which requires innovation and a lot of tenacity, today there are no impediments to undertaking any activity after the age of 40. “The important is be clear about the advantages and disadvantages of starting your own business as an adult”, explain the experts in Human Resources.
Being older also implies having more experience, knowing better your strengths and weaknesses and having learned to delegate, for example. Also, in general, there’s greater financial security, something that’s a big help for the early stages of a business.
But there is also disadvantages associated with starting an already large business. There are ingrained habits, you can be less receptive to ideas, to new technologies. Starting a business when you’re not that young it requires breaking many routines and trying to adopt new approaches.
The following are three cases of entrepreneursin different areas, who talk about what their experiences were like when they started these paths after the age of 40 and what motivated them to undertake them.
“I had my first big business before I was 20 and my second big business, after 40,” she says. Gaston Goroterrazucreator and CEO of Aptugo, the first intelligent visual software development tool in Argentina.
“This helped me realize the experience that one has as an adult. At age 20, he’s destined to fix something big. At 40, he wants to solve a problem that has been around for some time and that no one has dealt with”, share. “The ideal entrepreneur is the person who decides to make the tool that solves the problems he experienced during his past career,” he sums up.
Having worked in many national and international companies and in different roles, Gastón recognizes this the disadvantage of starting “late” is “the instability of the entrepreneurial framework An adult’s chances become more difficult”he says, “On the other hand, resistance can be a factor that works against you since as an entrepreneur you work 24/7 and it’s not the same as being in your 20s,” he confesses.
As for his new project that has allowed him to leave his previous job as an addiction, Gastón says it was created with the aim of capitalize software spending and turn it into an investment. “It’s designed so that programmers can empower themselves, so that companies can reuse and benefit from it, and it’s not just an expense,” he says.
Joaquin Sepúlveda Lemus He is the founder and director of Simplestate, a real estate investment platform and believes that “the firm is not for everyone, regardless of age,” he says.
In 2019, working in a coworking space, this entrepreneur met who is his partner today, Gonzalo Abalsamo. What united them, beyond their respective work experiences that complemented each other, was the same feeling that “Commitment is always having goals and working to achieve them”.
“When you start out, you have all the challenges on your shoulders, no matter how old you are. To undertake is to have more “no” than successes. You don’t have the possibility to iron, you always have to renew your energy and be prepared for it,” he comments.
Sepúlveda Lemus worked in an addictive relationship but soon realized this was not for him. While knowing that starting a business does not have all the benefits of a company, Simplestate started the business in 2020 and at the age of 40.
The project gave him many ideas to be able to define its focus and characteristics. “As an entrepreneur, there isn’t much time for success, we spend most of our time experiencing permanent challenges,” he adds. And he underlines, “the quality that defines an entrepreneur is not age, but always have new challenges“, he describes.
TO Vincent Leone Martinofounder and CEO of Flash Agro, a marketplace for buying and selling agricultural products and services, age didn’t matter much to him at the time. “I was 54 years old. I came up with an idea that motivated me a lot and I started getting more involved in the topic”, comment. So, he summoned his current partners.
The bond that united them and made them leave was the motivation for what could be a great project. Even so, it took them a long time to complete the idea and define what was most important. Another difficult thing in the beginning was that everyone had their own tasks and no one was 100% dedicated to the project, which made everything slower. “Obviously the availability of silver was an obstacle and above all from now on that we are on the right path to entrepreneurship. But I can say that time is the least sufficient and the most difficult to manage”, comments the entrepreneur.
On business financing, according to data from the Association of Argentine Entrepreneurs (ASEA), 70% of entrepreneurs in Argentina finance their projects with personal savings and 21% resort to bank loans.
NS
Source: Clarin
