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"Startup" by its very definition is simply a company in its early phases. Whether it's a for-profit corporation or a non-profit corporation, the challenges, at
by tghw 11y ago
"Startup" by its very definition is simply a company in its early phases. Whether it's a for-profit corporation or a non-profit corporation, the challenges, at a high level, are largely the same. At a lower level, they vary just as much between for-profit and non-profit as two for-profits in different industries vary.
- mattmanser 11y agoNot really, a startup is a fuzzy concept, but 'business' is always included in the definition. A charity is not a business.
- soyiuz 11y agoThe Oxford English Dictionary defines it more generally: "An instance of ‘starting up’; spec. the action or process of starting up a series of operations, a piece of machinery, a business, etc."
- tghw 11y agoWhy do you think a charity isn't a business? They still have revenues and expenses, employees, marketing, growth, a product to deliver. The only fundamental difference is that their owners don't take dividends or distributions from the business.
- mortehu 11y agoI think you are thinking of nonprofit organizations. Charities don't have to be nonprofit organizations[1], and nonprofit organizations are often not charities. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For-profit_charity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For-profit_charity
- tghw 11y agoWhile technically true, for-profit charities are much less common. Moreover, it's just another step along the spectrum, where for-profit charities, unlike non-profits, are allowed to take distributions, but unlike for-profit corporations, have no obligation to create value for shareholders. (Yes, this is also overlooking privately-held companies, but again, they're just another step on the spectrum.) Regardless, the main point is that charity or not, for-profit or non-profit, they're all still fundamentally businesses and should be run accordingly.
- x5n1 11y agoBusinesses generally have a profit motive.
- jaysonelliot 11y agoStartups are not just young companies, they're companies focused on rapid growth. The challenges of a company built for exponential growth are very different than, say, a small business, a lifestyle business, or a charity.
- tghw 11y agoThat's the Valley redefinition of a startup. You don't need rapid growth to be a startup. "A startup company or startup is a business in the form of a company, a partnership or temporary organization designed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model."[0] Nor do you need to be a for-profit business to seek rapid growth. If we're going to measure based on "rapid growth", GiveDirectly has been a far more successful startup than most YC companies. [0]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Startup_company http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Startup_company
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- cactusface 11y ago> a repeatable and scalable business model implies rapid growth.
- squidbidness 11y agoI see nothing in the words "repeatable" or "scalable" that has to mean "rapid". To me a repeatable and scalable business model means one that can grow, and that isn't a one-time opportunity.
- cactusface 11y agoI guess the word rapid is ambiguous. Most chain restaurants have repeatable and scalable business models and as such count as startups, even if it takes ages for them to reach multinational status. However they're still rapid growth relative to the vast majority of fine dining restaurants that are unusual if they have more than one location. The repeatability and the scalability make them rapid growth because it's the assembly line approach to expanding the business. What is an example of a repeatable and scalable business that is not rapid growth, relative to other businesses in the industry?