After moving to Kenya with her husband many years ago, Greene discovered she was pregnant and became “very hyperaware of [her] own personal safety in that type of environment.” The mom-to-be didn’t want a gun or a bodyguard, and instead decided that a protection dog was the next best option.
As she searched for a dog that could be both her protector and her best friend, the seed for a business idea had been planted, and that idea turned into a company that has been operating for 20 years.
Much has changed since those early days, including moving back to the U.S. in 2013 and a divorce from her husband in 2019. But these days, Svalinn — which charges well-heeled clients $175,000 per dog — turns a respectable profit. In 2024, the business brought in just under $3 million, and revenue for 2025 is projected to beat that.
However, the road to success has been a long and bumpy ride, as Svalinn only became profitable in 2017. Before that, Greene and her family were “broke as a joke for a lot of years” and were “hanging on for dear life for a very long time.”
The move back to the U.S., coupled with the divorce, was a chance to rebrand the company, which she says was like “starting over.” Now, Greene proudly declares “this is my dream life, and it’s wrapped up in my dream job.”
The advantage of midlife entrepreneurship
According to statistical analysis, midlife seems to be a good time for those feeling the entrepreneurial pull to take the leap.
As Business Initiative reports, the average age of a thriving entrepreneur is 42, while peak success rates tend to occur in the 40s and 50s (2). In fact, according to figures published in December 2025, business owners who flourish have typically started their businesses later in life.
“Of high-performing startups in the top 0.1% in terms of growth in the first five years, the average entrepreneur started their company when they were 45 years old,” Search Logistics reports (3).
The same study also found that a 50-year-old man who creates a new company is nearly three times more likely to be successful than a 25-year-old man. Put simply: the more experience an owner has before starting their business, the more likely that business will succeed.
America is home to 54 million entrepreneurs (4), and almost two-thirds of Americans (61%) say they have an idea for starting a business (5). Meanwhile, an increasing number of aspiring entrepreneurs are pulling the trigger on that dream; in 2024 alone, 5.2 million new business applications were filed with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (6).
