editione2.1.1
Updated September 12, 2022βDefinitionβ A startup is an emerging company, typically a private company, that aspires to grow quickly in size, revenue, and influence. Once a company is established in the market and successful for a while, it usually stops being called a startup.
βconfusionβ Unlike the terminology around corporations, which has legal significance, the term startup is informal, and not everyone uses it consistently.
Startups are not the same as small businesses. Small businesses, like a coffee shop or plumbing business, typically intend to grow slowly and organically, while relying much less on investment capital and equity compensation. Distinguished startup investor Paul Graham has emphasized that itβs best to think of a startup as any early stage company intending to grow quickly.
βtechnicalβ C corporations dominate the startup ecosystem. LLCs tend to be better suited for slower-growth companies that intend to distribute profits instead of re-investing them for growth. Because of this, and for complex reasons related to how their capital is raised, venture capitalists significantly prefer to invest in C corporations.
Many large and successful companies began as startups. In general, startups rely on investors to help fund rapid growth.
βDefinitionβ Fundraising is the process of seeking capital to build or scale a business. Selling shares in a business to investors is one form of fundraising, as are loans and initial coin offerings. Financing refers both to fundraising from outside sources and to bringing in revenue from selling a product or service.
βDefinitionβ Venture capital is a form of financing for early-stage companies that individual investors or investment firms provide in exchange for partial ownership, or equity, in a company. These investors are called venture capitalists (or VCs). Venture capitalists invest in companies they perceive to be capable of growing quickly and commanding significant market share. βVentureβ refers to the risky nature of investing in early-stage businessesβtypically startupsβwith unproven business models.