Starting a Business at 40: Why It’s Never Too Late

Twenty years into my career, I decided it was a perfectly sensible time to add “founder” to the list.

At 40, I started Pursuit of Extraordinary, an AI-powered marketing and creative studio.

Not because I suddenly had fewer responsibilities. Quite the opposite. I was already managing demanding leadership roles, a career built over two decades and a life that was fairly full.

But somewhere along the way, I realised experience doesn’t have to make you more cautious. It can give you the confidence to take bigger bets.

Experience can be your unfair advantage

Starting later means you aren’t starting from zero.

You bring years of mistakes, relationships, pattern recognition, instincts and an understanding of how businesses and people actually work.

POE also began with something every founder hopes for: trust.

My first client was my best friend of more than 35 years. My partner was someone I had already known and worked with for over a decade.

That made me realise that your network isn’t merely a collection of LinkedIn connections. Built over decades, it can become one of your most valuable forms of capital.

Curiosity matters more than having all the answers

Marketing has transformed dramatically over my career. AI is changing it again at extraordinary speed.

The only way to stay relevant is to keep learning.

That means experimenting with new tools, questioning old assumptions, understanding new consumer behaviour and being comfortable becoming a beginner again. The original carousel captures this simply: “never stop being curious & keep learning & upskilling.”

And perhaps that is one of the biggest advantages of building something at this stage of life.

You know enough to build intelligently.

But hopefully, you’re still curious enough to know there is plenty left to learn.

Build the business. But keep building the life too.

I want POE to become a successful business. I also want to travel, try things I have never done before, notice the little things and make time for the experiences that make all the work worthwhile.

Entrepreneurship can easily convince you that every waking hour needs to become productive.

It doesn’t.

Because ultimately, businesses are built by people. And people do their best work when there is still a life outside the laptop.

So if there’s one philosophy I’m carrying into this chapter, it’s the last line from that carousel:

Everything is figure-outable.

And sometimes, starting before you have figured everything out is exactly the point.