Habefast alt
Glossary > Entreprise > Startup

Startup | Habefast

Startup Glossary Habefast (2)

Startup : Definition

A startup is, according to entrepreneur and startup theorist Steve Blank, “a temporary organization in search of an industrializable business model that allows for exponential growth. It is a young innovative company that bets on its growth potential and speculates on its future value. From the English word “start-up”, the start-up translates above all into a state of mind and the notion of experimentation. The start-up experiments with an activity, a market with high potential and takes risks while hoping for a high return on investment

The difference between a start-up and a company

Unlike an ordinary company, a startup experiments with a business model and tests the market in which it is established. The company, already established on an activity, optimizes a profitable business model and seeks to draw a maximum of benefits. By carrying innovative projects, often in the tech sector, the start-up opts for a strong risk capital in the hope of later gaining value. The goal for a start-up is the development of the company to a dominant position on a market once its business plan is finalized.

The characteristics of a startup

  • The use of a new technology

These innovative companies are looking for a business model to industrialize and enter innovative markets in order to develop an innovative service or product.

  • The prospect of strong growth

Whether it is through the market in which it seeks to innovate or through its search for new processes, the startup is an incubator of ideas and ambition and seeks to achieve exponential growth. The startup is therefore temporary. It is the stage before the advent of a company or a large group. Apple, for example, was a startup before becoming the multinational that we know.

  • The need for important financing

Startups need financing and for that, they resort to fund raising, crowdfunding and answer to calls for projects from large groups.

  • A state of mind

The startup is also an entrepreneurial state of mind, a different relationship to failure, a drive and a taste for challenge. Teamwork, coworking and corporate language, everything is good to take to adopt the lively spirit of a startup.