"At (time), I started a company to (xyz), and... (cool flashy thing)."
Usage:
"I started a company in 2006 to create software to make accounting painless for small business owners. We got rated top 10 small business software by Inc magazine!"
"A few months ago, I went in with one of my best mates to create a new kind of social network for pet owners. It's very cool, because even though it's a small niche area, we've been able to get to profitability very fast by making commissions on sales of pet training, tools, and you'd be surprised how lucrative advertising in the niche is."
"I've been working in small business since 2005 - I've taken a variety of projects and my main focus has changed a couple times, but I've always made it about making online business really appealing and aesthetic. People need gears and stuff to work well, y'know, but things sell much better if there's great presentation. It's been a joy working with designers, artists, photographers and linking them up with business owners."
And so on. I have no clue why adding timeframe makes things go over so much better, but it's really been quite big in my experience. Add a time, even if it's only a couple months ago, and it goes from being a whimsical thing to a real, legitimate tangible thing. Don't forget the cool fact - that's what people remember and talk about.
Ah, I should add to this. The above answer stimulates discussion and gets people asking you more questions. If that's NOT your intent, then you want to be specifically ambiguous. If you get sick of having the same conversation every single time you mention what you do, or you're playing the modesty thing in a crowd that wouldn't appreciate someone whose "made it", then give an answer that seems very specific but isn't interesting.
"I work in accounting."
"My background is in management information systems."
"I work at a small company coding software."
I don't care for simply "I have a startup", because it stimulates discussion and you get the same questions all the time - what specifically do you do, what field, how long, profitable?, etc. Might as well knock half of those out right away if you want to talk about it.
And if you don't want to talk about it, you're going to need to give someone a specific answer, so when someone's wife asks "What's cperciva do?", your new friend can say, "Oh, he builds computers or something like that."
Usage:
"I started a company in 2006 to create software to make accounting painless for small business owners. We got rated top 10 small business software by Inc magazine!"
"A few months ago, I went in with one of my best mates to create a new kind of social network for pet owners. It's very cool, because even though it's a small niche area, we've been able to get to profitability very fast by making commissions on sales of pet training, tools, and you'd be surprised how lucrative advertising in the niche is."
"I've been working in small business since 2005 - I've taken a variety of projects and my main focus has changed a couple times, but I've always made it about making online business really appealing and aesthetic. People need gears and stuff to work well, y'know, but things sell much better if there's great presentation. It's been a joy working with designers, artists, photographers and linking them up with business owners."
And so on. I have no clue why adding timeframe makes things go over so much better, but it's really been quite big in my experience. Add a time, even if it's only a couple months ago, and it goes from being a whimsical thing to a real, legitimate tangible thing. Don't forget the cool fact - that's what people remember and talk about.