from my reading they were trying to create a new product/service to add to an existing business's offerings i personally think "startup = new business and/or a

from my reading they were trying to create a new product/service to add to an existing business's offerings i personally think "startup = new business and/or an effort to try creating a new viable business" is the best definition. otherwise they could say, well, they were doing new product R&D. no need to use the term startup. startups often have to find investors, find employees, etc. doing R&D for a new product within an existing and already profitable business is a different kind and magnitude of problem.