You are implying that startups value experience, and more so when gained early in one&#x27;s career - so they would be discounting knowledge based on how late in one&#x27;s life it&#x27;s gained.<p>I reckon this comes form the American&#x2F;British style tradition of going straight to college, graduating at 22 and then starting a career. In Europe styding&#x2F;working isn&#x27;t a mutually exclusive, binary option. It&#x27;s not uncommon to graduate at 25 or even 30, whether that&#x27;s because of mandatory military service, self-funding study concurrently with studying, finding interesting opportunities while at university, pursuing arts&#x2F;theatre&#x2F;sport, etc.<p>In fact, I&#x27;ve never disclosed my age to employers whether during or after hiring. Since it can&#x27;t be easily deducted from graduation years, I&#x27;ve had people estimate anything from 19-40 in the past few years.<p>If you are comparing two potential hires, the age should be irrelevant. Experience, skill and future value (including fit and other subjective aspects) vs. their price (salary) is pretty much the only relevant consideration.