[coldpie]

I wonder if another way to phrase the distinction would be whether the company's primary goal is to sell a product or service for a profit; or to manage financial instruments, such as a stock price or IPO or debt to some VCs or other investors.

[Sylamore]

It's not a perfect method, but it seems private company (with no intent to IPO and not a VC funded startup) vs public company seems to be a pretty good indicator of what a companies priorities tend to be.