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What defines a startup? Everything that did not IPO yet is referred to as a startup. Sure everything starts at some point, but should Dropbox, Uber and Airbnb still be called start ups? Aren't these large companies?

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Startups are companies designed to grow fast. This is not hire fast, but capture the market. The money is the rocket fuel to achieve escape velocity.

Better yet, is any new business a startup? Having been around business for a long long time I tend to see it as fitting a particular mold in terms of tech type product offering, young staff, desire to get venture funding, talking the talk and walking the walk. I think I know it when I see it but I can't even think of all of the qualifiers.

Yep, the word "startup" has the same definition to me. It's more of a description of the culture than how new or scrappy the business is. I worked at a "startup" that had been around for 10 years, had no plans of exiting, and was sustainable, but had a very young staff, a keg in the kitchen, and pressured it's young developers to work late for shitty pizza.

I think some small businesses are jumping on the startup train so that they can attract kids right of college.

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