Is 26 too old to be an incoming entry level consultant?

Hi everyone, I was wondering if anyone had experience starting in consulting not immediately after college. I'm 26 and starting as an incoming analyst at a boutique strategy firm. I graduated from college in 2015 but started my own company and sold it in 2018. I then wanted to steer away from the industry (food & bev) so I jumped to consulting because I like the strategy aspect - not the food industry aspect.

When I decided to go into consulting, I knew that I would have to start from the bottom. I networked with a lot of people and most said that, unless I had an MBA form a top school, I would have to start as an Analyst. I honestly feel ok about it, because this is totally different from my previous role, which was mostly strategy planning and execution and fundraising.

Now I realized that I'm a lot older than all of the peers that will be starting with me. I looked up some of the seniors at the firm on LinkedIn and most of the people my age are already 1 level up (Associate). Is this something that people care about at all?

Thanks everyone.

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Most of the network I reached out to said that since I didn't have a top MBA and my company was a food startup, which essentially requires different skillsets etc. etc. They all wanted me to start out as Analyst and said that maybe my skill/experience will be valued during promotion. I know of another guy who had his own startup and started out again as Analyst at the same firm too.

 

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