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I think this is just a disagreement over the term "startup". For something like a new restaurant, or a mom and pop store to be profitable, it might take many years. But most actual startups are going to validate an idea quickly and either make money or not in a short amount of time.

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You have examples? Every startup I've been with has been many years to profitability and the common names follow that pattern as well.

Some get traction, or maybe growth early on, but actual startups don't seem to "make money in a short amount of time"

I guess it depends on what you consider "making money" to mean. In this case, I felt we were discussing making the equivalent salary to the full-time job you would be giving up. There are certainly other definitions.

But overall, I think a startup's job is to validate an idea, then grow. If you can't make money at first, you probably don't have a valid idea. The next phase is pure growth--and I'm sure very few new businesses can make money AND grow at the same time.

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