In my mind, "startup" implies that there is still risk that the company will cease to be a going concern in the near to medium term. The transition from "start

In my mind, "startup" implies that there is still risk that the company will cease to be a going concern in the near to medium term. The transition from "startup" to "former startup" is more of a process than an event. The magnitude of exit for companies like Uber, Airbnb, Dropbox, etc. may still be in question, but the chance that any of them will fail, go bankrupt, firesale, etc. seems very remote at this point.