The fatal flaw of this project, methinks and is especially relevant here on Startup (sorry, Hacker) News, is mixed interpretations about what a 'Startup' is. O

The fatal flaw of this project, methinks and is especially relevant here on Startup (sorry, Hacker) News, is mixed interpretations about what a 'Startup' is. On HN and in the broader tech community, a Startup is almost exclusively a tech-based, scalable, early stage business. It requires entrepreneurial skills. In the broader business community, a startup is just an early stage business. That cafe around the corner from your server-filled garage? It's a startup. The guy who washes Zuckerburg's porsche? Startup. So we see a site like 'Startup Britain' and, combined with the whole Silicon Roundabout push, think it's exclusively about our type of startup - tech entrepreneurs, and no doubt the government here wants more tech startups. But the government will gain maximum roi from this project by targeting the broader definitions of startups - ie, all, early business. By going after all early businesses, unemployment is reduced (at least by the founders, and some of them will hire staff), tax bases will rise etc. I still feel this project has been a waste of time and money so far BUT claiming that 'startups' don't need advice on logos and renting offices and buying MSFT software until they've developed an MVP and a revenue stream misunderstands the fact that a vast majority of startups are the local hairdresser, estate agent, or handyman, not the next Google. (See also the E-Myth for a basic explanation of how this confusion affects businesses down the track.)