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If I'm starting a flower business, is that a startup? No. I'm just starting a business. Selling flowers is a proven business model. The difference between star

by pan69 14y ago

If I'm starting a flower business, is that a startup? No. I'm just starting a business. Selling flowers is a proven business model. The difference between starting a business or a startup is that a startup is trying to solve a unique problem. It often tries to do this through the use of technology. If I think I might have found the cure for cancer which could lead to a billion dollar company but I need to do 5 years of research, that's a startup! No bank is going to give me a loan for this so I need investors who believe in my vision.

rprasad 14y ago
Uh, no. Legally, a startup is simply any new business, whatever goals the business is trying to accomplish. The startup period is the period during which the business is setting itself up prior to begin its normal intended business operations. The term "startup" derives from the tendency of technology based companies to remain in this "starting up" period longer than companies in most other domains. It has somehow been romanticized as a term exclusively belonging to tech. After all, if "startup" only meant a business trying to solve a unique problem, then Twitter, Facebook, and even Google never were startups, because communication, social networking, and search were not unique problems when those companies were formed. For that matter, AirBnb and Uber would not be startups, as FRBO's and charter car services are solved problems.
- rfrey 14y ago
  "Legally, a startup is simply..." I normally dislike "citation needed" responses, but what law are you referencing, exactly?
  - rprasad 14y ago
    For the tax code laws, see §195, 248, and 709. For the state and federal laws, I suggest using Lexis to look them up as i don't have the time to provide cites.
- DavidAdams 14y ago
  I agree that "unique problem" probably isn't a good enough descriptor, but there's no such thing as something that's "legally" a startup or not. Now, there are regulations that define a "small business" based on number of employees or revenue, so you can say that you can be "legally" a small business. But startup is another animal. I personally prefer Steve Blank's definition.
true_religion 14y ago
> If I'm starting a flower business, is that a startup? No. I'm just starting a business. Selling flowers is a proven business model. Amazon was never a startup then. Selling books is a proven business model. Zappos was never a startup. Selling shoes is a proven business model. Heroku is not a startup. Selling application hosting is a proven business model. Github is not a startup. Code repositories have a long and storied history, and yes... are a proven business model.
- pan69 14y ago
  When Amazon launched it was pretty unique. Trying to sell books in a different way. Zappos had/has a unique customer support scheme that made/makes them very unique. Heroku took hosting to a new level, in 2007 it was not so easy to find scalable application hosting. Compare Github to Sourceforge. Github is pretty unique the way it adds the social element.

by pan69 14y ago

rprasad 14y ago

Uh, no. Legally, a startup is simply any new business, whatever goals the business is trying to accomplish. The startup period is the period during which the business is setting itself up prior to begin its normal intended business operations. The term "startup" derives from the tendency of technology based companies to remain in this "starting up" period longer than companies in most other domains. It has somehow been romanticized as a term exclusively belonging to tech. After all, if "startup" only meant a business trying to solve a unique problem, then Twitter, Facebook, and even Google never were startups, because communication, social networking, and search were not unique problems when those companies were formed. For that matter, AirBnb and Uber would not be startups, as FRBO's and charter car services are solved problems.

rfrey 14y ago
"Legally, a startup is simply..." I normally dislike "citation needed" responses, but what law are you referencing, exactly?
- rprasad 14y ago
  For the tax code laws, see §195, 248, and 709. For the state and federal laws, I suggest using Lexis to look them up as i don't have the time to provide cites.
DavidAdams 14y ago
I agree that "unique problem" probably isn't a good enough descriptor, but there's no such thing as something that's "legally" a startup or not. Now, there are regulations that define a "small business" based on number of employees or revenue, so you can say that you can be "legally" a small business. But startup is another animal. I personally prefer Steve Blank's definition.

true_religion 14y ago

> If I'm starting a flower business, is that a startup? No. I'm just starting a business. Selling flowers is a proven business model. Amazon was never a startup then. Selling books is a proven business model. Zappos was never a startup. Selling shoes is a proven business model. Heroku is not a startup. Selling application hosting is a proven business model. Github is not a startup. Code repositories have a long and storied history, and yes... are a proven business model.

pan69 14y ago
When Amazon launched it was pretty unique. Trying to sell books in a different way. Zappos had/has a unique customer support scheme that made/makes them very unique. Heroku took hosting to a new level, in 2007 it was not so easy to find scalable application hosting. Compare Github to Sourceforge. Github is pretty unique the way it adds the social element.