This summer, I traveled to Vicenza, Italy, to support a dear friend who had decided to pursue her lifelong passion for opera singing. At 53, she refused to let her dreams quietly fade into retirement. Instead, she boldly embarked on a journey to become a professional opera singer, performing on a stage she had only dreamed of in her younger years. As I watched her sing with confidence, grace, and the wisdom that comes with age, I realized that life’s most fulfilling moments often begin when we dare to chase passions we once thought had passed us by.

There is something extraordinary about women over 50. We’ve spent decades navigating careers, families, and crises—learning empathy, patience, and resilience along the way. In business, these qualities are superpowers. We don’t just delegate; we nurture. We don’t just solve problems; we identify deeper human needs. We don’t just mentor; we sponsor. Emotional intelligence, a skill that can’t be quantified but is vital, sets us apart.

As a young mother and CEO, I often felt like I had to carry everything on my own. Over time, I learned the true strength in empowering others, delegating responsibility, and building people up. Women at this stage in life have mastered the art of listening deeply, mentoring with intention, and sponsoring the next generation of leaders. These skills allow us to create products, businesses, and solutions that reflect the real needs of people.

Women over 50 bring strengths forged by balancing multiple responsibilities and leading with empathy. Our experiences fuel our entrepreneurial journeys, allowing us to approach problems with fresh perspectives and develop solutions that resonate with human experiences. We’ve learned not just to lead but to inspire. We build businesses with impact at their core.

Turning experience into innovation

Our lived experiences often spark the best innovations. As women over 50, we have a unique vantage point on the challenges facing aging populations, caregiving, and social isolation. This insight gives us the power to create solutions that address real needs.

For example, at Melinda Gates’s inaugural Care Summit this year, I was called an “OG” in the care space. Instead of embarrassment for my age, I was inspired to see an audience of 300 entrepreneurs and investors focusing on the “care economy”—recognizing that care is the work that makes all other work possible. By 2030, one in five Americans will be over 65, and women comprise the majority of caregivers. This gives us valuable insight into the growing demand for innovative solutions, from healthcare to fighting loneliness—what Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy calls an epidemic.

There’s also a glaring gap in women’s health innovation, particularly around menopause and aging. Despite women living longer than men, funding for women’s health research remains disproportionately low at 5% of total medical research funding. As women who have lived through these experiences, we’re uniquely positioned to address these gaps and create lasting change.

Breaking the myth of ‘too old’

The idea that women over 50 are “too old” to embark on new ventures is a myth that needs to be debunked. Just recently, a 52-year-old female founder friend texted me: “I just had an investor tell me the main reason they are passing on this round is that they prefer to invest in ‘young hackers’ and my team and CTO are too ‘mature.’ My CTO wrote the book on [what we are building] and has led in this space for 15 years at one of the biggest tech companies in the world. Incredible. And this woman is my age!”

It’s astonishing that this bias still exists. Research shows that the average age of successful startup founders is 47. The notion that youth is the key to innovation is misguided. As we age, our ability to connect the dots, draw on decades of experience, and think strategically only deepens. Women like Arianna Huffington and Kathryn Finney have proven that launching successful ventures later in life is not just possible but often a distinct advantage.

In reality, women over 50 tap into fluid intelligence, using vast knowledge, adaptability, and continuous learning to solve complex problems. Age brings wisdom, and that wisdom is invaluable in creating meaningful businesses.

My shift from achievement to purpose

This realization—that age is not a barrier but an advantage—has shaped my own journey. In 2020, after selling my company, I thought I’d retire, content with the milestones I’d reached. But a single moment made me rethink everything.

At our IPO celebration, my son Ryan stepped up to the open mic. In front of a room full of bankers and lawyers, he revisited a conversation we’d had years earlier. When I’d asked if I was a good mom, he once replied, “I’m not sure—you weren’t around enough.” That response had crushed me. But that night, he said, “Mom, I answered you wrong. I see now what you’ve done to help millions of people, and I’m proud to be your son.