I’m by no means an expert on this, but I never assumed “startup” implies VC-backed. I thought “VC-backed startup” meant that and “bootstrapped startup” meant no

I’m by no means an expert on this, but I never assumed “startup” implies VC-backed. I thought “VC-backed startup” meant that and “bootstrapped startup” meant not. That “startup” was an indicator of not being an incumbent in the space and using technology to disrupt things. But in an increasingly tech-first world, it does beg the question what separates a tech first SMB from a startup.