Is the SV fascinated with youth?

Last night I went to a "Facebook For Dummies" book signing party at Curtis Feeny's house in Woodside after a full day of coaching. Curtis, who is a GP at Voyager Capital during the day, has been one of my most influential advisers for my company for the past 4 years. His son's girlfriend, Carolyn Abram co-authored the book with her co-worker, Leah Pearlman; Carolyn is a"writer-in-residence" and Leah is a product manager, both at Facebook.



Am I writing this post to encourage you to buy their book? Absolutely!

But, I also found it interesting that the enthusiasts that stood in line to get their books signed were noticeably "older" people (35 to 65), though there were many in their teens and 20's that attended -- we all sat up front... ;-) What does that say about the cultural dynamics in the Silicon Valley today? Are we -- the "older" generation -- fascinated with innovation created by the younger generation? Did you think only Hollywood was fascinated by youth? Are we as a collective more technologically-aware today, that we can honor these successful young technology entrepreneurs, rather than being threatened by their potential takeover of our business landscape similarly to 1999?

To take it a step further into my world, the questions is: Is it hip again to invest in young entrepreneurs who were somewhat pushed under the table for some years after the burst of the Internet bubble in 2000? If I were a betting person, I would lean on the yes answer vs. the no -- especially young founders raising capital particularly at the Series A.

For a while there, it seemed that the young entrepreneurs were apologizing for coming up with brilliant innovation because they didn't have experience. Though this is not a conclusion, but rather an observation from the deal flow I receive on a daily basis -- consumer Internet services deals are often founded by the younger generation, and that segment continues to be one of the flavors of the month in the Silicon Valley.