Disrupted

In writing about the launch of The Fintech Virtual Lunch group I have been writing a lot about what the community stands for, and it's values. In these writings I've mostly focused on the need for more diversity in the fintech industry. I've written about how we need more people of color, and more women in financial services. But I haven't written about the discrimination that I and many others have dealt with. Something that we'll all face - ageism.

At 62 years old I am faced with the reality that nobody wants me anymore. I'm not valuable to the workplace, and I don't fit in there anymore. My resume is sent straight to the circular file, and people with lesser experience, knowledge and capabilities are hired instead of me. We are all going to be confronted with it eventually, no one escapes it, age is a reality of life.

But I don't want to fade away into the background, I don't want to quit. I am still viable, and I have a lifetime of experience. If you're around my age you're probably thinking the same thing. People that grew up in the 60's and 70's are not the same as the seniors in the decades before us.

We're cut from a little different cloth, at least I am. I still have a lot to offer, and I'm sure you do too. Here's how I am confronting the issue, and working to make change. Maybe you are doing some of the same, or have other methods you can share, us old guys need to stick together and make these last few years as good as we can - while they last.

I was chatting with a friend yesterday. Joey is a conductor of the one of the Startup Buses leaving from Florida, headed to the pitch competition in Austin, Texas later this year. I have been seeing some posts about it in the social channels, and was interested to learn more about this trek.

According to their website, Startup Bus is a hackathon. a media production. a startup competition. a package tour bus. They are all of that, and none of that.

Basically this year's Startup Bus program is six different teams, leaving from different locales, bussing to Austin, TX for a pitch competition. The products being pitched are all rapidly created by the teams on the way. Kind of like a hackathon on wheels - eighteen of them. StartupBus is a experience that transforms lives - by challenging top tier talent to hop on a bus and conceive, build and launch a startup in just a few days.

I had considered going on one of the previous bus trips but didn't pull the trigger. In talking to Joey one of my first concerns about the trip was, you guessed it, my age. I asked Joey, "am I too old for the bus?" Joey assured me that I would be welcomed and that he did the trip at the age of 52.

He said that he and another friend were two "silver foxes" on the 2019 bus, and that they had plenty of opportunity to remind the kids that there's a reason they're still around. This appealed to me, and I thought that this is a great opportunity to show that you're never too old to innovate, and so I'm strongly considering applying for StartUp Bus.

I see this bus trip as opportunity to call attention to the fact that I am still innovative despite my age. I think I can use the trek to share an ongoing narrative about how I participated in the event and was able to add value to the project. Each mobile incubator is comprised of 50% developers, 25% designers, and 25% influencers.

Being a master of none, I am a good creative generalist, a shoe-in for this trip. I have my concerns about taking the trip at 62, but I am not going to let fear hold me back. But I'm not 100% sold, I haven't applied - yet ...

But how many opportunities does life offer? Although the Startup Bus is meant for the next generation, that doesn't mean I can't offer my insights, and gain some perspective while living this experience. I can't be more serious, isn't that what life is all about - experience?

In imagining myself among the 20 somethings on this trip I think of the book that intentionally shares the same name as this blog post, "Disrupted", by Dan Lyons.

An instant New York Times bestseller, Dan Lyons' hysterical memoir, hailed by the Los Angeles Times as "the best book about Silicon Valley," takes readers inside the maddening world of fad-chasing venture capitalists, sales bros, social climbers, and sociopaths at today's tech startups.

For twenty-five years Dan Lyons was a magazine writer at the top of his profession--until one Friday morning when he received a phone call: Poof. His job no longer existed. "I think they just want to hire younger people," his boss at Newsweek told him. Fifty years old and with a wife and two young kids, Dan was, in a word, screwed.

Oddly enough, Dan's book were written about his experiences working at Boston-based HubSpot. While I was working in my last corporate position, before I was too old to be hired, I attended HubSpot's annual Inbound event, and met and was interviewed by Dan. I was one of the Google Glass beta Explorers,

Dan and his camera crew found it interesting. Unbeknownst to me he was collecting information to write his book at the time. It's kind of a weird full-circle thing - especially in relation to me writing this blog post now about ageism.

In an excerpt from the book Dan writes "HubSpotters were true believers: They were making the world a better place ... by selling email spam. The office vibe was frat house meets cult compound:

The party began at four thirty on Friday and lasted well into the night; "shower pods" became hook-up dens; a push-up club met at noon in the lobby, while nearby, in the "content factory," Nerf gun fights raged.

Groups went on "walking meetings," and Dan's absentee boss sent cryptic emails about employees who had "graduated" (read: been fired). In the middle of all this was Dan, exactly twice the age of the average HubSpot employee, and literally old enough to be the father of most of his co-workers, sitting at his desk on his bouncy-ball "chair." Sound or feel familiar?

But, I've spent the first two years of my sixties literally locked-up, away from most of the world due to the pandemic. And I like many others want to get out there and experience life again. I think, if I take it this Startup Bus trip would all add tremendously to my visibility, and call attention to the fact that people older than 60 can still contribute and bring change.

At my age I have to give myself all the opportunities I can. I believe that this trip offers a lot. The website reads "We attract the crazy. The outsiders. The dooers. The tinkerers. The adventurers. We evaluate all those that apply and put the very best through our competition, a unique experience that connects you to the hundreds of people that have gone before.

People with an urge to create. People eager to learn. People who are open to unique perspectives. People that can work as a team despite the hardest constraints. They go on to say "It's no coincidence we've seen multiple billion dollar companies get formed by our alumni. In most cases, with each other."

StartupBus is an experience that is as real as it gets: You'll be building real products. You'll be selling this product to gain real traction. You'll be pitching to real investors. And as if that was not hard enough, we find ways to make it even harder. You'll be amazed by what you can achieve under our constaints based approach to innovation.

By pushing you beyond your comfort zone we will make you see a new you. One thing we promise as well: you will rethink the way things should get done, forever. Startup Bus offers the experience of the first year of a startup, in one week. It's an opportunity, it's visibility, it's a great experience for me.

I also like that Startup Bus is heralding diversity and inclusion in the mobile incubator programs. This summer, the Advancing Black Entrepreneurs bus hits the road to bring opportunity to greatness as 30 top black tech talents and entrepreneurs from across the country seek to create the next great tech innovation.

The Latinxs in Tech bus will also join technology’s coolest brawl for the first time ever and clash in one of the most epic competitions the world has ever seen. The bus will be made up of raw Latinx talent from the adventurous lands of Argentina, the arresting domains of Mexico, and beyond. So this is a real opportunity to call attention to ageism along with the other barriers in the job market.

Part of my reasons for joining forces with Wayne Brown to help build out The Fintech Virtual Lunch group is because he and I are exactly the same age. We both have the same frame of reference, and individually we have both been building a network of professionals from the financial services industry.

In combining forces, we are creating a group that is accepting of people our age. Wayne and I both are still in the game, so we know what it is to be older and still be a part of the workforce. We have carved out a place for ourselves, and we continue to innovate and disrupt despite the barriers and obstacles in our way.

While I was working on creating the #PAY event a few years ago a recruiter friend reached out to me asking me if I knew of any positions for an older friend of his. I took the time to talk to the gentleman, and was amazed that this learned professional could not get anyone to give him the time of day. He was past his prime, and just like with my experience, no one cared. It's haunting, I didn't feel it as much then as I do today - today it's more real to me.

I found that no one is going to give me a position at a corporation anymore, I don't fit the criteria. I have to create my own brand, find people who value my skill sets, and create opportunity for myself. Even early-stage startups aren't particularly interested in someone my age, their hip culture really doesn't allow for it. It's not personal - it's just complicated.

If you are around our age, and experiencing this same displacement, join us. We welcome you, and can introduce you to many like-minded people who can make a difference. If you are looking for a position, looking for a co-founder, seeking opportunities for your company or just trying to get back out there and network with professionals in financial services we invite you to register for our upcoming meetings.

Become a member of the fintech virtual lunch community, and if you really want to put yourself in a central position, start a local community charter group.

The Fintech Virtual Lunch website will be launching soon, in the meantime we invite you to join the LinkedIn Group we have setup: The Fintech Virtual Lunch | LinkedIn Group The group will be updated and have the latest news on this growing new fintech community.

UPDATE: Since publishing this post yesterday I made the decision to move forward, and submitted my application to get aboard the Florida Startup Bus crew. I know that battery power is going to be a premium so I sent out some requests to portable power station manufacturers to get a loaner on one of their units for the trip. I think it will come in handy.

If I'm chosen to join, I will be sharing a real-time narrative about the trip, and my journey.

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