Start-Up magazine is running its annual top ten NZ online start-up competition. Head on over here and nominate or vote on who you think should make the cut this year.
Feel free to nominate any type of business – product, service, journalism whatever (hey maybe even your favourite blog 😉 )
I think there needs to be a little moderation here… I counted 5 on the list that have been around 4 years+ and the criteria is 24 months…
However, it got me thinking… How long should a startup be considered a startup? 12, 24, 36 months? or until in profit?
My view is that if I was starting out again, I wouldn’t want to be called a startup at all – it’s a credibility killer in some industries. Don’t get me wrong though – I support startups and resources for startups… We can be seen as startups to our peers, but I think we should be selective in hiding that word when doing real business with customers.
And all startups should be aiming to NOT be a startup and be a real business as soon as possible.
Here’s a vid I did ages ago (excuse the audio).
http://julian101.com/2008/06/entrepreneur-startup-advice/
– Look at the one called “Business Tip – Don’t Make a Startup!”
Taking a step back you could list the things that come to mind when describing something as a start-up…
– Small
– Unlikely to succeed
– Dubious business model
– Hung potential (maybe)
You have to wonder why people are so proud to have a ‘start-up’.
My bet is a new name will come out in the next couple of years without the .com baggage and small businesses will migrate to it.
Any bets what it’s going to be?