What should I have accomplished by 35?

See what remarkable builders and entrepreneurs achieved at age 35

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Notable Achievements at Age 35

Angela Merkel

Fall of the Berlin Wall (catalyst)

The 1989 revolutions and the fall of the Berlin Wall prompted Merkel's sudden shift from science to politics.

1989
100% confidence
Source
Mira Murati

Awarded Honorary Doctor of Science by Dartmouth

Dartmouth College awarded Murati an honorary Doctor of Science degree for contributions to technology and AI (June 9, 2024).

2024
99% confidence
Source
Josh Kushner

First child born (Levi Joseph)

Karlie Kloss and Joshua Kushner's first son was born in March 2021.

2021
99% confidence
Source
Lex Fridman

Launched podcast as part of MIT course 6.S099 (Artificial Intelligence Podcast)

Started The Artificial Intelligence Podcast in 2018; later expanded scope and renamed the show.

2018
99% confidence
Source
Balaji Srinivasan

Married Boonsri Dickinson

Married journalist/filmmaker Boonsri Dickinson in San Francisco.

2015
99% confidence
Source
Tobi Lütke

Shopify IPO (public listing on NYSE/NASDAQ)

Shopify went public (major liquidity event and company milestone).

2015
99% confidence
Source
Cristela Alonzo

Historic milestone — first Mexican American woman to create/produce/write/star in US primetime comedy

With Cristela airing, Alonzo became the first Mexican American woman to create, produce, write, and star in her own American primetime comedy.

2014
99% confidence
Source
David Heinemeier Hansson

24 Hours of Le Mans class win (Aston Martin Racing, GTEAm)

Achieved a class victory at the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans driving for Aston Martin Racing in the GTEAm class.

2014
99% confidence
Source
Shakira

Birth of first son, Milan Piqué Mebarak

Shakira and partner Gerard Piqué welcomed son Milan on 22 January 2013.

2013
99% confidence
Source
Salman Khan

Named to Time 100; featured on Forbes cover

Recognized in Time's '100 Most Influential People' (2012) and featured on the cover of Forbes with the tagline 'The $1 Trillion Opportunity.'

2012
99% confidence
Source
Bryan Johnson

Braintree acquired Venmo

Braintree purchased person-to-person payments app Venmo for $26.2 million.

2012
99% confidence
Source
Rachel Maddow

Becomes the first openly lesbian host of a US prime-time news program

With her MSNBC prime-time show, Maddow became the first openly gay or lesbian anchor to host a major U.S. prime-time news program.

2008
99% confidence
Source
Caterina Fake

Launched Flickr (product launch)

Ludicorp launched Flickr, a photo‑sharing and online community website, early in 2004; marked a major pivot from the game project.

2004
99% confidence
Source
Jack Ma

Co‑founded Alibaba Group

Returned to Hangzhou and co‑founded Alibaba in his apartment with 17–18 friends as a B2B e‑commerce marketplace (started with 500,000 yuan).

1999
99% confidence
Source
Marc Benioff

Founded Salesforce (from San Francisco apartment)

Launched Salesforce with the mission slogan 'The End of Software' and pioneered delivering CRM via the web (SaaS).

1999
99% confidence
Source
Stephen Dubner

Married Ellen Binder

Marriage to documentary photographer Ellen Binder (NYT wedding announcement).

1998
99% confidence
Source
Tim Berners-Lee

Published the first website (info.cern.ch)

Published the first website that described the World Wide Web project and how to set up servers and browsers (20 December 1990).

1990
99% confidence
Source
Rowan Atkinson

TV debut of Mr. Bean

First appearance of Mr. Bean in a Thames Television half-hour special broadcast New Year's Day 1990; character later ran 1990–1995 on television.

1990
99% confidence
Source
Jerry Seinfeld

Seinfeld series premiered on NBC

Seinfeld (originally The Seinfeld Chronicles) premiered; Seinfeld starred as a semi-fictionalized version of himself.

1989
99% confidence
Source
Ted Danson

Cheers premiere

Cheers premiered on NBC; Danson starred as the central character.

1982
99% confidence
Source

💡 What this means for you

At age 35, you're at a pivotal point where many successful entrepreneurs made their breakthrough. Whether you're building your first company or scaling an existing one, these examples show what's possible with focus and execution.

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