What is a Startup Anyway?

Here's a link to another fantastic post from my friend Paul O'Brien.  This time he's discussing something that seems pretty straightforward, but isn't - what is a startup?

There's a tendency for anyone building anything with technology to claim they're building a 'startup,' but it's not that simple.  Here's the framework from Paul's article that sticks out to me:

"Startups are not just new businesses. Startups are new business models.

They’re not “another version” of an existing idea with tech sprinkled on top. A startup creates an entirely new kind of economic behavior, often enabled by innovation but not reducible to it. It changes how markets operate, how customers behave, or how industries are structured. It breaks something, reconfigures it, and creates disproportionate value by doing so."

I've posted my thoughts on startup ecosystems before, and I believe this lack of clarity lies directly at the heart of a lot of the startup ecosystem failures we talk about.  Every startup is a small business, but few small businesses are really & truly a startup.

Incidentally, this reminds me of my favorite definition ever given for a 'startup,' which is (to paraphrase the great Steve Blank):

"A startup is a temporary organization in search of a repeatable business model."

Note the complete absence of the word 'technology'. 

Thanks as always Paul, incredibly insightful.

Go read Paul's post & then let me know, how do you define a startup?