Ask HN: When does a startup stop being a startup?

10 points·brianbreslin··8 comments

I was wondering when do you consider a startup no longer a startup?

Is it a question of time? Size? Revenue? Growth?

Steve Blank argues that a startup is "an organization formed around discovering a business model".

By that definition, you're no longer a startup once you've established your business model and proven the assumptions built into it.

You can make revenue and even profit and still remain a startup, if you're evolving the business model.

so once you stop doing major pivots?

That sounds right. Once you shift focus from defining the business model to scaling the business.

In a recent interview (D8 Conference), Jobs called Apple "the world's biggest startup". I don't think it's a question of size, revenue or growth, but rather the mentality of the company and the individuals working there.

Cute, but in the literal sense, I don't think you can call Apple, a 30+ year old company, a startup.

The word is "Start" + "up". Time probably has the most to do with it, because your not a startup after more than a couple years. If your still small after that long, you're just an underperforming company. Growth probably has a to do with it as well, because the bigger and more successful you grow, the closer you are to reaching your company's maximum potential. Tons of employees aren't typical of company's that just start.

So there's my logic!

I asked this question on twitter, and people thought once you had an HR department you lost your startup-ness

My definition is that once there is no longer beer in the fridge, it isn't a startup anymore.

When the question changes from "How can we make money?" to "How can we do it faster?"

Startup mode is the search for a repeatable, scalable business model. It ends once you've found it.

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