What Is a Startup, Really?
It’s more than tech. It’s more than funding. It’s a beginning.
I was asked recently, “What is a startup?”
Without thinking, I gave the standard answer:
“A tech company. Fast growth. Backed by venture capital. Trying to become the next unicorn.”
It’s the version we’ve all picked up by osmosis—tech Twitter, pitch decks, media headlines.
But the more I thought about it, the more I realized:
That definition is too narrow. It leaves too many people out.
The image we’ve been sold
We’ve wrapped the idea of “startup” in a very specific aesthetic:
The founder in a hoodie. The open-plan office. The product sprint. The hockey stick chart.
The race to raise. The idea that you either scale fast—or you fail.
But that image doesn’t reflect the full picture.
It doesn’t speak to the solo builder testing an idea after work.
Or the small team that’s bootstrapping toward sustainability, not scale.
Or the person opening their first café, building community one customer at a time.
Are those not startups?
Startups are more than the Valley
Over the years, I’ve met all kinds of builders. Some are writing code. Others are roasting coffee, designing physical products, or building tiny consultancies.
Some have investors. Most don’t.
Some want to scale big. Others want to build something they can live off.
What they all share is this: they’re creating something from scratch. Something that didn’t exist before.
To me, that’s startup energy.
It’s the risk. The learning curve. The idea that nothing is guaranteed, and everything’s still taking shape.
So what is a startup, really?
The cleanest answer I’ve landed on is this:
A startup is a business still becoming.
It hasn’t fully settled. It’s searching—for the right customer, the right model, the right rhythm.
It’s run by people still testing what works. People who are okay with not knowing everything yet.
Startups are not defined by how much money they raise or how fast they grow.
They’re defined by motion. By change. By the stage of figuring things out.
This definition matters
Because when we only see startups through the lens of venture capital or unicorn status, we miss the real, everyday builders.
We discourage people from calling themselves founders.
We imply that if you’re not scaling, you’re not serious.
We ignore the creativity, resilience, and risk it takes to start anything at all.
And we forget that even the “big” companies we admire today…
started small. Messy. Unclear. Just like everyone else.
Are You Building?
If you're building from scratch—scrappy, solo, or slowly—you’re not waiting to become a startup.
You are one.
And that’s more than enough.
Happy Easter!
That’s it from me this week. With Easter here, I’ll be taking a little time off for a short trip to the countryside with the family.
Wishing you all a Happy Easter—hope you get some good rest, good food, and time with the people you love.
See you next week!