Defining 'Startup' Status: When Do High-Growth Companies Stop Being Startups?

Jason Lemkin explores the evolving definition of 'startup' in the context of unicorn companies like Uber, Airbnb, Snapchat, and Dropbox that continue to be labeled as startups despite massive scale. He proposes that 'startup' status should be defined by two factors: being in a disruptive phase and not yet being IPO'd, rather than employee count alone. The article challenges conventional definitions as terms like 'startup,' 'cloud,' and 'SaaS' continue to shift in meaning.