Competence has no age; let’s stop punishing new businesses

There is a persistent and, in my view, backward notion in our public discourse that the age of a company is somehow synonymous with its competence. It is not. A company may have existed for decades, possess every conceivable certificate and have an impressive history, yet lack the equipment, personnel, financial capacity or technical competence required for a particular job. Conversely, a company incorporated only months ago may possess all these things.