There is an exact answer to your question, and it has nothing to do with the size of the company: a startup is a company designed to grow fast. Everything we as

There is an exact answer to your question, and it has nothing to do with the size of the company: a startup is a company designed to grow fast. Everything we associate with the success of a startup is a byproduct of growth. With that definition, AWS is a startup. So was the iPhone. Both invented their respective markets, and had to grow quickly to do it. If either of them had needed to raise money from VCs, smart VCs would’ve invested. But they didn’t need to raise capital, since they were already a successful company.