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I once interviewed with a company that maintained a staff of <25 people throughout its entire 8 year existence. It struck me as odd when they described themselv
by freyr 14y ago
I once interviewed with a company that maintained a staff of <25 people throughout its entire 8 year existence. It struck me as odd when they described themselves as a startup.
According to Paul Graham, "a startup is a company designed to grow fast."
By this definition, they didn't fit the bill. Dropbox might, depending on whether or not they're still in a rapid growth phase.
- shard 14y agoIt seems like you're taking the term "fast" to refer to the number of employees. I think it refers more to revenue, or maybe user acquisition for those "we'll figure out how to make money later" companies.
- nostrademons 14y agoWell, it can get confusing when "a company designed to grow fast" doesn't, and yet still has enough revenue coming in to not die. I worked at a company that considered themselves a startup when I first interned there in 2004 (they'd been founded around 2002 and had just gotten their first 7-figure contract). When I left in 2007, it was apparent they were really a small business, they started calling themselves a small business around 2009, and they finally went out of business in 2011. I think headcount topped out at around a dozen in 2006 - it'd been around 7 at my first internship, and I think it was down to just founders when they went under.