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Comment by rokhayakebe | Hacker News Reader

Stop telling people what not to do. Wikipedia gives the following as a description for a startup "A startup company or startup is a company with a limited operating history. These companies, generally newly created, are in a phase of development and research for markets.". So yes, a two hour project can be a startup, just like a lemonade stand.

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This is a great description, and I really appreciate you posting it. I might update my blog with it, and really should have looked at Wikipedia too. Thanks.

You make my point perfectly. Wikipedia is very clear to call it a "company." That's what I'm saying. Two hour projects aren't companies (unless they file to be an entity, which I believe makes it a startup - 3rd qualification bullet in the post).

Suppose we could change that definition, it is wikipedia after all.

Actually, the Wikipedia definition is also pretty useless. What's a "limited operating history"?

Steve Blank put it best: "a startup is an organization formed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model"

You could be searching for a repeatable and scalable business model in a week-end, which would be awesome. Most people don't, and I find it really irritating that these projects get called startups.

i guess a computer scientist isn't a computer scientist unless he or she has a piece of paper to prove it

Paradox: You are actually telling him "not to do something".

No, two hour project is not a company and thus not a startup. Lemonade stand and two hour projects are startups when they have a legal entity, registered name, employees and pays taxes.

Author is right, there's too much "take a look at my startup I've created during my lunch/on commute to work" posts thrown around. Time to man up and call things for what they are.

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