An older founder explains why retirement age could be the best time to start a business

More Americans are starting businesses later in life.

In 2019, the Kauffman Foundation found that more than a quarter of new entrepreneurs were between ages 55 and 64, up from about 15% in 1996.

For many, decades spent climbing the corporate ladder become the foundation for a second act in entrepreneurship. And for some older professionals, entrepreneurship is not only about pursuing independence—it can also be a response to changes in the workplace.

Karen Wickre knows that transition well. After a decades-long career in communications at companies including Google and Twitter, the then-65-year-old left corporate life in 2016 to build the solo consulting practice she’s been running since.

Unlike many first-time founders who spend years building a network from scratch, Wickre entered entrepreneurship with decades of professional relationships already in place. She spent her first two months reconnecting with people she had met throughout her career, using those conversations to understand how she could package her expertise as a consultant.

Starting a business later in life comes with its own set of challenges, from finding clients to redefining professional identity outside of a traditional career path. But Wickre said the same experience that can make the transition intimidating can also become an entrepreneur’s biggest asset: a deep network, industry credibility, and a clearer understanding of the work they want to pursue.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

You’re part of a growing wave of entrepreneurs over 55. Why do you think we’re seeing more people start businesses later in life now compared with 20 years ago?

There is age discrimination. The older you are, if you’ve been somewhere for a long time, the more expensive you are. Those are just the facts of the corporate world.

I would say the closer they are to 65 the better. You don’t have to worry about Medicare, but otherwise people find, as I have found, you can live on less, and you have the freedom of more flexible schedules and time, and doing what you’re interested in.

A big driver is more jobs being eliminated, especially right now, in recent last few years, more jobs being eliminated, more people at that point in their career, where it’s not that their skills aren’t needed, but companies are saying, “We can come back to AI, but also we can hire cheaper, younger people to do this.”

You wrote about moving away from the corporate traditional space and starting your own sole proprietorship. What motivated you to take that leap?

It wasn’t hard for me to make a change at age 65, which I did 10 years ago, into having my own business, because I’ve been around a long time, I know a lot of people, and I have a wide network. I was also kind of burned out of corporate life.

I’ve worked and lived in San Francisco and Silicon Valley for many years, and it’s always been a very fluid job market in tech because people are constantly starting new things, moving to new things, and changing their focus. That’s just a given everywhere these days, but it’s especially in the air and in the water here.

Even if you do want another full-time role, it’s going to take a while. The older you get and the more experience you have, the longer it takes to find the right role. A lot of companies want to have a “try before you buy” situation…Having a part-time, consulting basis can be a really good thing and often seeds the ground for a company to say, “We do need this expertise full time.” They can develop a job based around what they’re getting from a consultant. There are lots of reasons it can be a good thing, even if you want to keep going full time.

What advantages does a 65-year-old entrepreneur have that a 30-year-old doesn’t?

I have a way more established network of contacts, friends, allies, peers, and former colleagues than I ever had at 30. I know thousands of people, literally.

Former colleagues are very important, and you have more of those if you’ve moved around professionally as you get older…The more experience you have, ideally the more contacts you’ve made because of that experience.