Laura Durrant is a Trustee of Action for Race Equality and has built a career spanning law, consulting, and technology. In this blog, she reflects on the realities of entrepreneurship, challenging the common belief that success comes early and exploring why experience, skills, and networks can be just as important as ambition when starting a business.
When I was young, my career choices were simple. Doctor if I liked science. Lawyer if I could write an essay and argue my case. Accountant if I was good at maths. I became a lawyer. No doubt I would have benefitted from some decent careers advice, but there has been a notable generational shift over the last few decades with young people aspiring in ever greater numbers to ideas of ‘entrepreneurship’ from an early age.
I was reflecting on this shift recently, having read some Harvard Business Review research about the average age of successful tech entrepreneurs. We know how many businesses fail, and I had supposed that the younger you are the more energy you might have to commit to making something a success. Apparently, I was wrong and the top 0.1% of start-up founders started their company when they were 45 years old.
So, the evidence shows that successful entrepreneurs tend to be middle-aged, like me, not in their 20s as I had assumed. On reflection, however, it makes a lot of sense and is something we need to explain to young people who dream of entrepreneurship. I left the traditional legal career several years ago and I suppose I would now count myself as an entrepreneur, with a few different roles I divide my time between; spanning consulting, technology and the not-for-profit sectors. When I left the law to set up a business, I had little appreciation for what really makes something successful.
Gaining core legal skills, developing long term commercial insights, and building a broad network over a couple of decades has been invaluable in supporting what I now want to achieve. Could I have done something similar when I was 25? Maybe. But it would have looked very different.”
So, when I’m approached for advice by those starting out who are interested in being an entrepreneur, I now reflect a little more on what I say to them. It’s important to encourage people and emphasise that hard work is essential. But, in reality, there may be a significant benefit to getting a robust training with a large organisation that equips you with a range of skills, whatever the sector. Being a lawyer for nearly two decades did not limit my career aspirations. In fact, it may be the making of them.
Laura Durrant
Author
CEO of The Black Talent Charter, the Board Chair of the technology company Associo Ltd, and a Partner at the consulting business, Equitura LLP
