My thoughts on why I will not call my business a startup again • Hacker News Board

Re: My thoughts on why I will not call my business a startup again

#11

Post by pwang » Fri, Jan 13, 2012, 2:10 PM UTC

hnwh wrote: post #5

mseebach wrote: post #4

It's not the terminology's fault that you didn't understand what "startup" meant (even to yourself) when you used it to describe your project. And if "startup" is indeed the correct abstraction for your project, why not use it? Finally, consider your audience when picking your words. Your family is likely to be more interested in what you're doing than the fact that you're doing it in a startup. You wouldn't tell the…

ALOT of people in this industry don't understand what the terminology means, at that rate..

Then they should read Four Steps to the Epiphany, Lean Startup, Innovator's Dilemma, or any of the other, you know, actual books on the stuff, and learn what the term Startup means.

Some innovative Fortune 500 companies are more of a startup or engage in more startup-like behavior than some self-proclaimed "startups" that have no idea about customers, market, and the discovery thereof.

Re: My thoughts on why I will not call my business a startup again

#12

Post by pwang » Fri, Jan 13, 2012, 2:10 PM UTC

Here's a nickel kid, go buy yourself a book on entrepreneurship.

Re: My thoughts on why I will not call my business a startup again

#13

Post by timjahn » Fri, Jan 13, 2012, 2:13 PM UTC

I think today, startups and businesses are two different things.

A business makes money. You see them all around you. Restaurants, companies that sell products (online and offline), web design firms, etc.

These businesses impact the rest of society. Real, everyday people buy from these businesses and often rely on them. Your family interacts with them, understands them, knows them.

A startup is a game. You play by the rules of the game. You (traditionally) spend a lot of time seeking VC money, get enough VC money to spend the next few years working on whatever you want, regardless of the results, and then either sell the startup, get acquired, or shutdown (exit).

The players of the game are often the only ones involved. They're the founders, the customers, the VCs. The game has very little impact on the rest of society.

Re: My thoughts on why I will not call my business a startup again

#14

Post by markokocic » Fri, Jan 13, 2012, 2:19 PM UTC

To me, as a customer, startup has a negative connotation. I am always reluctant to depend on any nontrivial service provided by someone calling itself startup, because I know they are not here to stay and continue to provide the same or improved service in the future. Instead, their goal is to exit by selling itself to whoever wants to acquire them, and that usually means the end of their service.

If I have to depend on the service, let it better be provided by a business that is struggling to make money on it for as long as possible.

Re: My thoughts on why I will not call my business a startup again

#15

Post by PakG1 » Fri, Jan 13, 2012, 2:25 PM UTC

timjahn wrote: post #13

I think today, startups and businesses are two different things. A business makes money. You see them all around you. Restaurants, companies that sell products (online and offline), web design firms, etc. These businesses impact the rest of society. Real, everyday people buy from these businesses and often rely on them. Your family interacts with them, understands them, knows them. A startup is a game. You play by th…

But every now and then, one of them will be able to have enough of an impact to be considered a gamechanger, though these are probably outliers. Pun intended. :D

Re: My thoughts on why I will not call my business a startup again

#16

Post by kristofferR » Fri, Jan 13, 2012, 2:29 PM UTC

pwang wrote: post #12

Here's a nickel kid, go buy yourself a book on entrepreneurship.

But that's his point. If he was aware that his startup actually were a business, and not just a "startup", he would have operated it as a business (and likely learning and pursuing as much knowledge as he could).

However, the term "startup" took his focus away from thinking of it like a business. Once he realized that it actually was a business (which needs profits) he knew that it was a bad one and shut it down.

Re: My thoughts on why I will not call my business a startup again

#17

Post by BjoernKW » Fri, Jan 13, 2012, 2:37 PM UTC

CubicleNinjas wrote: post #6

Advice to call your business a business? Hrm. I think the picture painted here is the larger problem. Someone who gets out of school and immediately sees client work as "just another client" is an issue. When someone sees self-employment as an easier option to the daily grind we have an issue. When someone thinks that their untested idea is worth devoting two years to, when everyone in their life has solid questions,…

A few years ago - even after having already started a company - I used to call myself a programmer or software developers.

Nowadays, I usually call myself an entrepreneur because being an entrepreneur in most cases indeed is fundamentally different from being employed, even if you're employed in the very same industry.

I find it easier to liken my 'job' to that of other business owners (including even something entirely different such as pubs) than to that of a software developer working for a Fortune 500 company (and I've been working for those, too).

I do take pride in being an entrepreneur. Does that have something to do with ego? It sure does but it isn't the only aspect.

I'd say though that society as a whole does have issues with the assumed default mode of being an employee. For starters, 9-5 sucks. Why do I have to sit 8+ hours at a desk to prove that I'm actually 'working'. Our whole idea of work organization is still so centred around the concept of personal presence and fixed working hours that it simply doesn't fit any more. Yet most companies still insist on these ideas. So you can't blame anyone for thinking that corporate working environments are ridiculous and not worth pursuing.

Re: My thoughts on why I will not call my business a startup again

#18

Post by untog » Fri, Jan 13, 2012, 2:40 PM UTC

timjahn wrote: post #13

I think today, startups and businesses are two different things. A business makes money. You see them all around you. Restaurants, companies that sell products (online and offline), web design firms, etc. These businesses impact the rest of society. Real, everyday people buy from these businesses and often rely on them. Your family interacts with them, understands them, knows them. A startup is a game. You play by th…

While I agree with most of what you said, the one outcome you haven't mentioned is the startup becoming a business. Start off spending VC money while putting together your business model and monetising. Exit your startup 'phase' with all of that in place, and making profit.

Re: My thoughts on why I will not call my business a startup again

#19

Post by untog » Fri, Jan 13, 2012, 2:43 PM UTC

kristofferR wrote: post #16

pwang wrote: post #12

Here's a nickel kid, go buy yourself a book on entrepreneurship.

But that's his point. If he was aware that his startup actually were a business, and not just a "startup", he would have operated it as a business (and likely learning and pursuing as much knowledge as he could). However, the term "startup" took his focus away from thinking of it like a business. Once he realized that it actually was a business (which needs profits) he knew that it was a bad one and shut it down.

But that's... insane. Changing your entire perception of the company you own based on the labels that you have chosen to apply to it? When you run the thing you really ought to have a clearer idea of what is going on.

Re: My thoughts on why I will not call my business a startup again

#20

Post by kayoone » Fri, Jan 13, 2012, 2:49 PM UTC

timjahn wrote: post #13

I think today, startups and businesses are two different things. A business makes money. You see them all around you. Restaurants, companies that sell products (online and offline), web design firms, etc. These businesses impact the rest of society. Real, everyday people buy from these businesses and often rely on them. Your family interacts with them, understands them, knows them. A startup is a game. You play by th…

mh, dont startups most of the time have customers/users of some sort too ? I bet most startups have more people interacting/relying on them (users/customers) than your local restaurant or web design firm.