[edblarney]

Yes, that's it. And a 'business' can also be a small contractor, a restaurant, or a hot-dog stand.

It's difficult to firmly characterize the difference between such business, but it's probably not fair to refer to every registered business as a 'startup'.

[webmaven]

They are startups. It's just that the use of the term has shifted a bit. What we commonly refer to as "startups" today used to be called "high-growth-startups" (or -ventures, or -businesses) not so very long ago, and the unqualified noun referred to any new business.

This is actually important, as, for example, the Lean Startup methodology is applicable to almost any new venture that has to deal with significant uncertainty, regardless of whether it is a high-growth venture, an SME such as a VAR, or non-tech lifestyle businesses.

[edblarney]

That the lean startup methodology might in some ways apply to other businesses, does not make them startups.

A single hot-dog stand will not do something that will change the economy, create 10K jobs, attract investment, R&D etc..

[webmaven]

> A single hot-dog stand will not do something that will change the economy, create 10K jobs, attract investment, R&D etc.

Well, you never know (McDonald's was once a small new company).

But that was exactly what I was trying to say: High-growth companies with those sort of ambitions are not the only kind of startup. ALL new ventures are startups, even if they are not intended to grow much, and including quite a few that aren't even necessarily businesses at all.