https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-age-discrimination-hurts-silicon-valley-strikes-all-rey-tamayo
I was watching the show Entrepreneur U the other day and when I visited the university site I saw that they are open only to entrepreneurs who are 10-28. I know that there is a huge age discrimination in Silicon Valley with the average worker being no older than 30 years old, but to have Tim Draper, one of the most innovative respected VCs be so blatantly discriminatory against age just blew me away. This openly happening in a state that defends discrimination of all types vigorously and prohibits work and educational institutions from discriminating on age. Silicon Valley needs their long-held and false ideals washed away and they need to become leaders not just in tech but in stamping out all discriminatory practices—and many of their tenets are just that.
For someone who is currently 57 and is quite productive and really ahead of most other VCs in his zeal for helping startups, it is surprising that Tim Draper would discriminate against age. It just goes to show how ingrained the Silicon Valley brainwash is. His respectable father is still active with him at age 87. With just themselves as examples, you would think they would have more faith on older founders.
The thing is that innovation and invention are not age dependent, they come to people in all ages. You do not need to know about an industry to invent in that industry because as outsiders you may see things that those with industry blindness cannot see. Television was invented by a 14 old, the oldest app inventor is 84. While is true that most inventions happen during our younger years you cannot dismiss the importance of the TV in our lives and it came way before their age range. This means that with the tech boomers who are now in their 40s the age of the power players in Silicon Valley is moving up and they are still as relevant as they were when they were in their 20s. So why discriminate against age. Yes, younger people might demand less pay but they also bring less to the table. Experience cannot be valued in dollars or you really cannot pay enough for it.
Silicon Valley needs to loosen up and be more inclusive, not just of women and minorities but also older workers. VCs need to consider not the age or pedigree of the founders but their ability to deliver hard work and create a team that can sail them to success. If the age is a concern because the older founder might die or become incapacitated, then they need to relax once the corporation is established and the ball gets rolling, their investment will survive any calamity. There is zero reason to discriminate against a person for being too old or for not having the right pedigree. Silicon Valley needs to wake up and stop discriminating against older founders because in them lie great kung fu equal or better than a younger person’s kung fu!"
