"Startup" is more a state of mind than an exact coordinate in age and size. There are brand new companies that wouldn't call themselves startups, and companies

"Startup" is more a state of mind than an exact coordinate in age and size. There are brand new companies that wouldn't call themselves startups, and companies worth 10s of billions of dollars that are commonly referred to as such. While we may be 12 years old, we constantly experiment with new ideas, programs, and processes within YC to see whether or not we can get meaningfully better at what we do. That feels like a startup to me.