Internet start-ups are seen as synonymous with youth, with men and women fresh out of business school - or even school - using the web to bypass the traditional hierarchy of the office and become instant senior managers.
But a report issued by the Industrial Society this month says that dot.coms are realising that they need older, more experienced workers once they have launched to take the business from infancy into maturity.
The report, Experience Necessary - the Business Case for Wisdom, has dubbed the type of older business people most in demand as "warhorses"; seasoned campaigners with experience of previous economic cycles who are not scared by downturns. Older people also bring the weight of experi ence, which leads to increased customer confidence, and well-honed networking skills.
The report points in particular to the Asian market, where "veneration and respect for age are important, and counterparts find it more comfortable to build relationships with older business people rather than with young dot.com entrepreneurs".
The view that having a few wrinkles are important in business was supported last week by the British Venture Capitalists Association, whose members underwrite scores of dot.com start-ups with hard cash. The association's chairman, David Thorp, decried the lack of wise heads watching the finances.
"The reason why the early dot.coms seemed to succeed was because they had no bag gage. Everyone was looking with fresh eyes and they went for it; the internet meant that barriers to entry were low and they had speed and verve. But what they did not have was business knowledge, and what we are now seeing is some of the more trusted business skills being integrated into new internet solutions." He adds that most venture capitalists avoided early dot.coms precisely because of their lack of business experience.
This month saw the first high-profile signing of an older business star by his younger peers. Allan Leighton, 47, former chief executive officer of Wal-Mart Europe and Asda before that, is joining the board of lastminute.com. He will not be paid, but is receiving 1m share options for his role as non-executive chairman.
Martha Lane Fox, the 27- year-old chief operating officer of lastminute says: "We are thrilled that someone with Allan's track record of leadership in customer-focused businesses is joining us. Allan is someone we have respected for some time. As we talked to him about our vision it soon became clear that he would be extremely valuable in helping us to provide an even better service for our customers."
Ronald Cohen, of venture capitalists Apax Partners, agrees that dot.coms are waking up to the value of experience. "Young entrepreneurs are coming in and asking for experienced people; increasingly they are realising that they need this to get the business to the stock markets."
And Charlotte Thorne, author of the Industrial Society report, says: "The current requirement is for knowledge. Businesses need people who can employ their experience and understanding, their networks and their strategic vision to add value to organisations." She makes the point that businesses set up by entrepreneurs in their early 50s are twice as likely to survive as those started by people aged 20-25 and that by 2020 one in four of the workforce will be aged 50 or above.
But are those who are bricks and mortar worldly wise readily able to transfer their skills to the virtual realm?
Graham Woolley, aged 54, had spent most of his working life as a management consultant until he went into semi-retirement last year. His CV boasts that he has been director of business solutions at CGNU Insurance, and has also been principal of PricewaterhouseCoopers' management consultancy di vision - and that his skills and experience include analysing problems and issues, creating and implementing original solutions and organising third-party suppliers.
He is now acting as a consultant to FashionNightmare.com, a website which aims to stimulate, educate, entertain and empower female teenagers, launched later this month.
"I was running a project employing Kath's (Kathleen Nickels, founder of FashionNightmare) husband. He said that he thought I was just the kind of person who could help the company get off the ground and I was interested in getting involved in a project. To date I have mainly been involved in forward planning and making sure that services are delivered.
"It's a kind of 'sorting out any messes' role - before me, Kath went to family and friends to try to get issues sorted out, but it is what I have spent most of my career doing. The biggest issue so far for FashionNightmare has been that it has not had enough money."
He is not being paid for his input, but has taken an equity share in the company instead: "I have a much more personal stake than I would have if it was just a matter of investment," he says.
The decision-making process is essentially the same as with a traditional style company, so his experience is directly relevant, and his years in the business world mean that he can play a smoothing role.
Ms Nickels has found that the process of raising money, finding the right team, managing third-party suppliers and actually launching a website has been more torturous than she had expected, even with her strong business background. She says that taking on Mr Woolley was one of the best long-term moves she has made so far in her bid to launch the site.
Although she has been a management consultant - with US group Marakon, working both in the States and the UK, and writing the business model should not have been a problem, she found herself proposing ideas which, as a consultant, she would have pooh-poohed.
"It's amazing, now that I'm on my own, how much self-doubt creeps in and how excited I am when someone thinks what I'm doing is a good idea. Also, I did not go to business school, which is where I think the majority of strong networks are built.
"When you start out there are plenty of cynics, the kind of people who have just got their MBA and need to prove that they know more about the internet than you. They just want to rain on your parade and you need to be able to spot that.
"But what you really need is people who know a lot and will be able to criticise, but their criticism will be constructive."
She adds that Mr Woolley's involvement also encouraged backers. "I had to tell my cousin, who had been helping me out, that her CV was not going to get us funding. It's definitely true that backers will go for an A team with a B idea but never a B team with an A idea.
"But it is a catch 22 situation - you can't get people without funding, but you can't get funding without the people there in the first place."
But most important is the guiding hand of someone used to toughing out hard times in business: "It has been a constantly changing dynamic, like a box of puzzle pieces which keep changing size. It is exhilarating when people promise money or support, but when that then fails to materialise quickly, or at all, the lows are really low. Having Graham around has helped me put it all into perspective."
She would now offer two main pieces of advice to an internet startee: ensure that one of the first members of staff taken on is a technology expert: "I tried to launch without this and failed. I now have a person who has 20 years' experience," she adds.
Secondly, find a mentor and get them on board as a non-executive director. "It helps to have contacts, but it is far more helpful to have advice and cheerleaders."
Windows of opportunity: why even Bill Gates may face an age-old problem in his 30s
Ageism is rife in the IT sector despite huge skills shortages, says a new survey by the Employers' Forum on Age, writes Liz Stuart . Although 65% of the 1,400 IT professionals questioned said their company finds it difficult to recruit staff, more companies are refusing to take on older people, many of whom have the necessary skills. More than four in five thought the government should do more to stop ageism in the workplace.
Sam Mercer, campaign director of the EFA, says the research also shows that 88% of people said mixed-aged teams work better than teams comprised solely of younger workers. "The IT industry is particularly guilty of ageism. An article in a computer trade magazine said all employees over 50 should be sacked because they do not have the right skills, but our survey refutes that.
"The government's immigration initiative could help to close this skills gap but it's not enough on its own. If the government and IT industry are serious about addressing skills shortages they should work towards changing a culture undervaluing the contribution of employees as young as 35."
The research also showed an alarming definition of the term "older": 21% thought an employee is an older worker by the age of 35, which would put Bill Gates in this category.
