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I was talking to Justin recently, and he gave the most succinct definition I've heard: A startup is a business aiming for a liquidity event. Edit: Reading the

by emmett 18y ago

I was talking to Justin recently, and he gave the most succinct definition I've heard: A startup is a business aiming for a liquidity event. Edit: Reading the responses to this, people clearly got the wrong idea. A liquidity event != early acquisition. But every successful startup nonetheless hits liquidity: acquisition, IPO, or substantial dividend payment to its shareholders. And that's a distinction between a successful startup and a successful small business, which are not intended to achieve liquidity.

sho 18y ago
Succinct but definitely not universal. Like seemingly everyone else here, I'm a startup founder, and I did it because I thought what I created needed to exist. A "liquidity event" (god I hate that term) might be possible but it's not the driving force. If someone offered me a huge sum of money, I might be tempted, but I'd just take that money and work on the next thing I considered needs to exist! I don't think people obsessed with the goal of money beyond anything else create startups, although they might find great riches as a result of their efforts. If money was the only thing in my life I'd probably have tried to found an investment fund or a real estate company or something. Sorry to talk about myself here but in such things one can only really refer to one's own experience.
- sachinag 18y ago
  If you'd take the money (and if you have clients it's really hard to take the money because they hired you) and you'd start the next thing, you're the perfect startup founder.
Agathos 18y ago
That's a popular one, but I find it so depressing. Here you've quit your job and thrown yourself into something you believe in, and from the first day you're thinking about how you'll unload it?
- gravitycop 18y ago
  I think the idea of startupism, or startup mentality, is that one believes most of all in starting things - kicking off great ideas - rather than being a shopkeeper. There are other people who like being shopkeepers. Let them run it after you've created and tamed it for them, so you can be free to kick off other great ideas - or to help new entrepreneurs do it.

by emmett 18y ago

sho 18y ago

Succinct but definitely not universal. Like seemingly everyone else here, I'm a startup founder, and I did it because I thought what I created needed to exist. A "liquidity event" (god I hate that term) might be possible but it's not the driving force. If someone offered me a huge sum of money, I might be tempted, but I'd just take that money and work on the next thing I considered needs to exist! I don't think people obsessed with the goal of money beyond anything else create startups, although they might find great riches as a result of their efforts. If money was the only thing in my life I'd probably have tried to found an investment fund or a real estate company or something. Sorry to talk about myself here but in such things one can only really refer to one's own experience.

sachinag 18y ago
If you'd take the money (and if you have clients it's really hard to take the money because they hired you) and you'd start the next thing, you're the perfect startup founder.

Agathos 18y ago

That's a popular one, but I find it so depressing. Here you've quit your job and thrown yourself into something you believe in, and from the first day you're thinking about how you'll unload it?

gravitycop 18y ago
I think the idea of startupism, or startup mentality, is that one believes most of all in starting things - kicking off great ideas - rather than being a shopkeeper. There are other people who like being shopkeepers. Let them run it after you've created and tamed it for them, so you can be free to kick off other great ideas - or to help new entrepreneurs do it.