[funthree]

Axiom: Words are just pointers to actual thoughts we intend to project

A startup is definitely a business, by definition of anyone who runs a startup that actually works. The author might have conveyed his point more astutely by choosing different terms. Saying that you are just building a startup and not a business because you are forcing your hand at growth prematurely seems a little immature because all of the people that have a different understanding of the word startup are going to be shaking their heads a little bit.

Startup are as much about marketing as they are about scaling out.

You have to have both balanced out, and there are many equally important aspects of any business. I think that forcing your business to grow before there are really any sales only works if you have a greater and over-arching sales or marketing plan that this plays into. That is, if you haven't proven your idea with real customer testimonials, or you arent better-solving some other problem that has already been proven to bring in revenue then it's just a mistake.