Palmer Luckey says start at 18, Bezos says start at 30: two takes on founder timing

johncoogan · x · 2026-11-04

Two opposing takes on the best time to start a company, shared back to back:

Palmer Luckey: "People think starting a company or taking a break from school is this high-risk move. But it will never get better. When you are 18 or 19—that's the best time to start a company."
Jeff Bezos: "I always advise young people—go work at a best practices company somewhere... I started Amazon when I was 30. Not when I was 20. That extra 10 years of experience actually improved the odds that Amazon would succeed."

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