Contrary to popular beliefs, older entrepreneurs who start a business in their 50s are more likely to create radical innovations than younger ones.

Based on data on 2,900 founders of new ventures in Germany in 2008–2017, we found that for every ten more years of age increases a founder’s likelihood to introduce a market novelty by up to 30 percent. Thus, those late-career entrepreneurs who are highly innovation-oriented and managerially experienced are more than three times more likely to introduce market novelties than the sample average.