"Have you talked to investors?" A great many companies are "bootstrapped", which means the founders kick their own money in initially (or scrounge from friends

"Have you talked to investors?" A great many companies are "bootstrapped", which means the founders kick their own money in initially (or scrounge from friends and family). Many big companies, a recent example being GitHub, were started this way. "Have you quit your day job?" Many people wait until they see some traction before quitting. Doesn't make it any less of a startup. Consider it a consulting gig while launching the business (unless you don't consider it a startup if people consult on the side) "Are you seeing startup like weekly growth?" You are falling into this paradigm trap. Not all companies see hockey stick growth initially nor do they aim to. Most sustainable businesses I can think of started slow and gradually grew up. Nothing wrong with that.