As a greybeard in the making (36), my instinct is to dismiss comments like Mark's as inexperience and naivety. Those sorts of attitudes make me uncomfortable and edgy.
After some reflection, I'm forced to conclude that although such ageism is annoying, is naive, is arrogant, it's also beautiful. It is exactly that arrogance, the sure knowledge that the "establishment" is full of it and needs to be rescued by youth, that has rescued us, many times. Its from that arrogance that the energy to drive change comes.
There are many examples. A mantra of the 60s was to never trust anyone over 30. Kurt Cobain didn't exactly work with a lot of elder statesmen of the music world. Bertold Brecht spent his 20s in active rejection of all drama that had come before. And the art world is chock full of young artists declaring that a new age had arrived -- Basquiat probably never even talked to anyone under 30, except Andy Warhol, who was at least pretending to be a teenager.
None of which makes Mark's words easier for me to hear, but I can't bring myself to dismiss the attitude. It's fuel for radical new ideas. It's the nuclear reactor of society.
A much more noble attitude than plugging your ears and humming -- which is how many people seem to react to this harsh reality.
The fact is that Kapor himself was very young when he made his mark. There are far more similarities between him and Zuckerberg than differences, regardless of their opinions.
You're confusing selection for objectivity. Startups founded by "hot wiz kids" get more media attention to the fact that they are young. Companies founded by older people do not have that hook, so there is less emphasis in their age when the media writes them up.
After some reflection, I'm forced to conclude that although such ageism is annoying, is naive, is arrogant, it's also beautiful. It is exactly that arrogance, the sure knowledge that the "establishment" is full of it and needs to be rescued by youth, that has rescued us, many times. Its from that arrogance that the energy to drive change comes.
There are many examples. A mantra of the 60s was to never trust anyone over 30. Kurt Cobain didn't exactly work with a lot of elder statesmen of the music world. Bertold Brecht spent his 20s in active rejection of all drama that had come before. And the art world is chock full of young artists declaring that a new age had arrived -- Basquiat probably never even talked to anyone under 30, except Andy Warhol, who was at least pretending to be a teenager.
None of which makes Mark's words easier for me to hear, but I can't bring myself to dismiss the attitude. It's fuel for radical new ideas. It's the nuclear reactor of society.