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> But it is silly, and unhealthy, to solely focus on this narrow definition So what defines this "startup" thing? How "startup" is different from a "small comp

• jacquesm 11y ago
  Quite often 'small companies' hit a vein that suddenly causes them to scale beyond their wildest dreams (I know this happens, because it happened to me). Paul is super smart and wildly successful (as is YC) but he doesn't have a monopoly on what certain words in the English language mean. Defining a start-up in such a way that it benefits the YC narrative should be seen as a marketing ploy rather than a statement of fact or an extremely insightful realization. It's not as if the word 'start-up' originated with Ycombinator, or with Paul Graham. By other definitions a start-up is a company that is more potential than realization of that potential, an idea packaged in a company that might one day be successful or it might not. The success element is often still up for grabs long before a start-up fits the PG description of what a start-up is. It's a useful definition within a certain context but don't be surprised if outside of the 'YC bubble' (or more properly the SV bubble) the word has subtly or even widely different interpretations that are just as valid. I note this trend to creative redefinition or claiming ownership of terms a lot with successful SV entities. It's a 'partial reality distortion field' and I'm sure it is useful to them otherwise it wouldn't be such an often repeating pattern but you should be aware of the fact that the world is a lot bigger than that.