One of the great joys of being an entrepreneur is that you really do stand or fall on your own merits.

There is no stupid boss to get in your way – or to blame if things go wrong. The high school drop-out is on the same playing field as the Ivy League PhD.

That said, as with any playing field, there are certain natural advantages that do give an edge if you can bring them to the game. They are not necessarily decisive, but they do help.

Looking at Fortune’s “40 Under 40” – an arbitrary list, like all these things, but an interesting point to start a discussion – you do notice certain patterns.

1   Family. It helps to have rich parents. Even if you never actually draw on the Bank of Mum and Dad, or follow them into the family business, being brought up with successful entrepreneurs as role models gives definite advantages in terms of contacts, basic business skills, self-confidence and, possibly most important of all, advantageous genes.

2   Education. A good university is more important than a good degree. If you are going to be a drop-out, it is no bad thing to be a Harvard drop-out. It shows that your dropping out is not the sad fate of an unintelligent person who has failed in the education system but the positive decision of an intelligent person who has been failed by the education system.

3   Appearance.  Man or woman, it is a definite advantage if you are considered “good looking”. Race and gender have always been less important in enterprise, but ugliness remains the great unspoken prejudice.

4   Private life. A stable home life is a firm foundation. Most of the high flyers on the Fortune list are married, despite their relative youth. There is no evidence to support the macho notion that the man whose restless energy takes him from girlfriend to girlfriend will apply that same energy to business: on the contrary, a disordered personal life may prove a major distraction. The people who reach the very top, like Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, are often very dull and boring in their personal lives.

However, there is not need to worry if none of these apply to you. Once you are in the game, initial advantages or disadvantages soon cease to matter. All depends on how you play. A list of “50 Over 50” or “60 Over 60” would be far more diverse.