

Ask HN: What constitutes a startup? - turoczy

Over in the thread on the Ryan Carson "How to Build a Startup" series (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2642158), staunch offers that events, video series, and blogs aren't startups like Web apps. It got me to thinking: what actually constitutes a startup? Where do we draw the line? Where do we draw the line here on HN?<p>Would love to hear your thoughts.
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derefr
Best definition I've heard (paraphrased from Steve Blank —
[http://steveblank.com/2010/01/25/whats-a-startup-first-
princ...](http://steveblank.com/2010/01/25/whats-a-startup-first-
principles/)): a startup is a company that is in search of a viable business
model, and is scientifically experimenting with different routes to business
success in an iterative fashion, switching ("pivoting") when an experiment
gives them data that falsifies their current-best hypothesis for an effective
way to make money.

To contrast, a non-startup company has a viable business model, and simply
"does what it does," not constantly attempting to reinvent itself as something
else.

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jleader
I assume a company can be a startup even if they haven't yet seen the need to
pivot, assuming they're prepared for (maybe expect?) that eventuality? Or are
2 founders in an apartment hacking away at a prototype not a startup until
after they've thrown the first one away?

It sounds to me like it's a matter of attitude, rather than size, or business
model, or age of the company.

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chapel
I think the main distinction between startup and a non-startup is how and why
they are formed.

Normal businesses that you would not consider a startup usually have only a
few people or one person starting them. They usually take some money, from
friends/family or an investor or bank. They work hard, long hours. Hell they
probably could be in the tech sector. The key difference though is intent.

Normal businesses are looking to build a stable business with a viable income.
Usually something akin to a mom and pop store or a restaurant. They tend to be
risk averse, and have a business model in mind. Rarely does a normal business
start without some sort of revenue source in place.

Startups on the other hand, while sharing a lot of traits with normal
businesses, throw risk to the wind and a lot of the times have no revenue
model in place (though that does not mean having one makes you a non-startup).
Most startups are starting small, and trying to grow big. A lot of the time
they are product based, but really startups can be service based just as
easily. The main qualifier of a startup is lack of risk aversion and short to
long term goals.

There are some edge cases here and there, startups that seem like normal
businesses. A company that has a business model, is starting small, and not
trying to immediately grow to huge. Some would consider this a normal
business, but if the owner feels like it is a startup, then well it is.

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johnsocs
I'm going to say a startup is something that can satisfy some formula that
takes into account a set of attributes like, size of the company in terms of
employees, revenue, age, users, etc... If the result is below some threshold
then we call it a 'startup' else maybe it's a corporation..

Now I have no idea what that formula is, but I'm guessing its some calculation
that we all do in our head based on our own ideas and in the end we say 'yup..
it's a startup..' or not.

At some point Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, Groupon etc.. all surpassed that
level of 'Startup' and moved into the 'Big Company' field.

Can any math geeks out there put together something that reflects that ?

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staunch
A technology company that has a realistic possibility of scaling to something
massive (e.g. hundreds of millions of users/revenue).

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JamesDB
Why millions of users? Few B2B startup have millions of users.

Likewise it doesn't necessarily need millions in revenue to be successful.
Many exits have come from zero revenue.

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staunch
Revenue OR users.

The question is about what constitutes a startup, not what constitutes
success.

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keiferski
It's really just a buzzword anymore.

I'd say that startup = a relatively new business. Hence the (slightly
antiquated) term, "startup business."

A site that doesn't make money (or that doesn't have a business model) isn't a
startup business, it's a website (or blog, or forum, or web app, etc.).

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JohnBogrand
I suppose the quest to create a business that works to make money through
selling a good or service should suffice. The whole it does not have enough
technology associated to it seems to be fairly fuzzy.

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thomaslangston
A company with a limited operating history that can quickly change their
business model. Often, but not required to be, tech oriented with the
potential for high growth.

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tobylane
Something that requires (possibly on legal advice) an LLC or similar to go
forward?

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greim
How about: a small, tech-related business that aims to score big.

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waterside81
Why should tech have anything to do with it? A new coffee shop on the corner
is a startup isn't? To me a startup is a new company, that's it, no more, no
less.

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greim
It just so often seems to have techie connotations in everyday usage. Maybe
"tech-savvy" would be better than "tech-related."

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abbasmehdi
Personal def'n = a relatively new company (=< 3yrs).

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wylie
I like this because it's so simple and easy to measure.

