The problem with "startup" is that there are two separate issues mixed up in the same word. PG defined it as hypergrowth which is certainly one class of startup

The problem with "startup" is that there are two separate issues mixed up in the same word. PG defined it as hypergrowth which is certainly one class of startup, but there's another one as well. The other aspect of startups is that they are newish products doing something new in new markets. As such, issues like product-market fit are key. The problem is when you start to say things like you're not a startup, you're a traditional business is that most traditional businesses don't have the product market fit issue, and thus most traditional businesses are far far less risky. For example, I don't need to convince a bank that my coffee shop will achieve product-market fit, we know people love coffee and have lots of tools for evaluation the financials of a potential coffee shop, which is why I can get a bank loan to go start up my shop. Now there's the issue of starting a company that is trying something new and lacks product-market fit, thus is higher risk and we don't have good tools to evaluate those risks, but is also looking to grow conservatively thus isn't able to get the interest of those looking to give out high-risk funding, ie VCs.