Who Says You Have To Be In Your 20s or 30s To Start A Tech Company? Not Anytime Mailbox’s Matt Going

Your 20s and 30s are in the rear view mirror, but you have an idea for a tech company. Is it too late?

Statistics and anecdotal evidence would say yes. Practically all of the big name tech powerhouses — the Facebooks, the Googles, the Amazons — were created by individuals less than half his age. Was there room in the world for a 40-something tech entrepreneur?

Turns out the answer is a resounding yes.

“Entrepreneurship boils down to the old expression, ‘Find a need and fill it,’” says Matt Going, co-founder of Anytime Mailbox, a rapidly growing online entrepreneurial venture.

Going recognized that a problem he faced was something that a lot of people — business people, students, and others who traveled or moved frequently — had no answer for.

“You could reach me by email, text, voice, or social media,” Going recalls. “But since I’m constantly traveling, I can’t easily access my snail mail.”

Going realized that co-working spaces and P.O. box operators offer a physical address and, for a fee, will hold their clients’ mail until they can come in and pick it up. But what if that mail consisted of a time-sensitive document, or a check, or even legal process? You might not even know it was there until you were able to pick up your mail and that could be days or even weeks.

And if it was a lawsuit, you would lose the opportunity to respond…which means you’d probably lose the case.

That’s when Going and a friend had the idea for what developed into Anytime Mailbox, a service that offers entrepreneurs, businesspeople, grad students, and anyone on the move a unique service to solve the problem.

“With us, you get a physical address,” Going says. “But what sets us apart is that we will send you a copy of the front of the envelope via our secure mobile app. You then decide what do to with it; shred it, hold for pick up or open and scan the contents to you. That way, if there’s a check, you can deposit it using the scan. If it’s a legal document, you can deal with it immediately without losing valuable time. Whatever it is, you can get your hands on it instantly, instead of a delay of weeks or even months if you’re constantly on travel.”

The service resonated deeply with on-the-go entrepreneurs and other “digital nomads” — those people who are tethered to the world not by a physical address but by their email address, cell number, and other markers of the digital age. Within six years, Going’s venture has signed up over 40,000 customers, 500+ real street addresses and they are growing rapidly.

“It really doesn’t matter if you’re in your 20s or your 50s if you have an idea that solves a problem for people,” Going says. “For us, to have an idea that leads to a subscription-based membership that’s paying us month after month with repeatable, consistent income while providing a valuable service — it’s a great feeling.”

Going says that 20- and 30-somethings aren’t the only ones who should be exploring an idea in technology, if they think they can solve a problem for a lot of people.

“Sometimes life experience counts for a whole lot,” Going says. “So anyone who says ‘I’m too old’ or ‘I can’t live my dream’ isn’t giving themselves enough credit for what they bring to the table. My message, in three short words — go for it.”