Legally, a venture which is not intended to make money, or which has no plans for earning revenue, is not a business. If the venture is not a business, it is g

Legally, a venture which is not intended to make money, or which has no plans for earning revenue, is not a business. If the venture is not a business, it is generally treated as a hobby, meaning, among other things, that expenses are not deductible except to the extent of revenues earned. A "business" without a revenue model could be, and in various courts has been, treated as a hobby. Thus, with startups, the lack of a plan for generating revenue could very well be the demarcating line between a business and a (very expensive) hobby.